AMD reveals a heap of Ryzen 7000 laptop CPUs and it’s kind of confusing

Lots to choose from and a whole lot of numbers.

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What you need to know

AMD has joined Intel and NVIDIA in announcing its latest and greatest CPUs and mobile graphics atCES 2023and, well, there’s a lot. Not just in a sense of there being physically a large number of CPUs being debuted.

AMD’s Ryzen 7000 range is going to be a little confusing to navigate for the average consumer, and perhaps even enthusiasts. There’s a mix of architectures going back to Zen 2 and naturally a numbering scheme thattriesto help you navigate things and get what you’re looking for.

But there’s also some real innovation in the form of Ryzen AI, as well as a new range of blisteringly fast (or thus far promised at least) options for gamers and content creators. Here’s the brief version of what AMD Ryzen 7000 laptops will be looking like in 2023.

A Ryzen (and Athlon) for everyone

AMD has always been good at providing affordable performance for entry and mid-level laptops, and none of that is going away. Athlon returns for another round at the entry-level, while the Ryzen 7000 U-series will be what’s found mostly in the mid-range.

But even here there are different architectures that will cover the U-series, with different spec integrated graphics. Confused yet?

The slide gallery above breaks down the differences between the chips and the type of devices you’ll expect to see them in. The latter pair will also have higher-performing HS series variants, too.

At the top of the pile, you’ll find the new Ryzen 7045 HX series CPUs, targeted at gamers, creators, and those with high CPU workloads. Here you’ll find up to 16-cores and 32-threads based on Zen 4 and supporting DDR5 memory.

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There’s naturally some crossover, and it makes more sense on AMD’s slides than anywhere else. Simply put, there’s something for everyone, and there are a lot of numbers involved.

AMD Ryzen AI

Perhaps the highlight of the show is the XDNA Adaptive AI architecture that AMD will be including on its Ryzen 7040 series.

This will deliver up to four concurrent dedicated AI streams, designed for efficiency and up to 35% more responsive experiences compared to running a single stream. It’s also the first time an AI engine has been integrated into an x86 CPU.

A dedicated engine makes not only AI possible, but AI multitasking, and Ryzen AI has been optimized to ensure that battery life doesn’t completely fall apart under intensive workloads. AMD claims that it’ll also outperform a regular processor in the same situations, which you’d certainly hope to be the case.

AI is one of the next big things in tech and AMD is making a commitment to developing both hardware and software in the coming years. The first Ryzen 7040 laptops with Ryzen AI onboard will begin shipping from March this year.

Between Intel and AMD there’s suddenly a huge quantity of new laptop CPUs. Both brands have some big claims, so it’s going to be a lot of fun putting all of these through their paces throughout the year.

Richard Devine is a Managing Editor at Windows Central with over a decade of experience. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you’ll find him steering the site’s coverage of all manner of PC hardware and reviews. Find him on Mastodon atmstdn.social/@richdevine