CES 2021: AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX is the first ever unlocked AMD mobile processor

AMD has finally lifted the lid on the AMD Ryzen 5000 series mobile processors. They have unveiled not just the performance-oriented H-series processors, but also the U-series processors, designed for efficient ultraportables. The AMD Ryzen 5000 series sees a number of Zen 3 SKUs mixed in with the Zen 2 ones in the U-series, which is quite an interesting decision on AMD’s end.

AMD also decided against added PCIe 4.0 to their mobile processors, instead continuing their reliance on the eight-lane PCIe 3.0 interface in the AMD Ryzen 5000 series. Another thing that is still carried over from the previous generations is the Radeon Vega graphics, which is definitely beginning to show its age with the arrival of the Intel Iris Xe Graphics.

AMD Ryzen 5000U Series – not everything is Zen 3

As mentioned earlier, not the entire AMD Ryzen 5000 series mobile processors product stack is based on Zen 3. While the AMD Ryzen 4000 generation saw the whole product stack updated to Zen 2, this time AMD decided to mix in a few Zen 2 SKUs in with the Zen 3 SKUs, presumably to cover a wider range of price points with the AMD Ryzen 5000U series processors.

AMD spread out the Zen 2 and Zen 3 SKUs in a way that there aren’t any overlapping SKUs. If you just want a higher core count, you can opt for the more affordable Zen 2-based processors, while if you want more performance you can also opt for the Zen 3-based ones. The Zen 2 SKUs are available from the low-end 4C/8T configurations all the way up to the 8C/16T options, while Zen 3-based SKUs start from 6-cores.

This allows for near-perfect scaling across the board when it comes to multi-core performance, without the need for AMD to gimp their parts by disabling SMT. The situation is a bit messier when it comes to single-core performance, but I guess that’s a compromise that AMD is willing to make.

As we have previously observed with the desktop AMD Zen 3 processors, this generation, or at least the SKUs with the latest Zen 3 cores, are bringing a huge leap in performance and efficiency. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800U is expected to deliver up to 21 hours of battery life on top of more than 20% performance improvement over last-gen products.

AMD Ryzen 5000 Mobile Processors (15W) Specs

AMD Ryzen 5000H Series – the fastest mobile processors in the market!

While AMD’s desktop processors are fully unlocked regardless of variant, it is definitely a lot more challenging when it comes to laptops, as there’s just so much to consider in a laptop, especially when it comes to thermal and power headroom. But I guess AMD decided to go all out with the Zen 3 architecture, bringing us the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX and Ryzen 9 5980HX, two overclockable Cezanne mobile processors.

AMD has also released the flagship AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS, offering the highest out-of-box boost clocks in their product stack, while also sporting an optimized 35W TDP. AMD appears to be intent to compete aggressively against the new Intel Tiger Lake H35 processors in ultraportable gaming machines, with the new AMD Ryzen 5 5600HS, Ryzen 7 5800HS, Ryzen 9 5900HS and the aforementioned Ryzen 9 5980HS for a full lineup of 35W CPUs starting from the 6C/12T configurations.

For the OEMs who will be designing their laptops with more thermal headroom, there will also be the regular 45W TDP SKUs with slightly higher base clocks. Thanks to the AMD Zen 3 architecture, AMD is claiming that the AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS is capable of besting the Core i9-10980HK in Cinebench R20 by 17% in both single and multi-threaded performance, even while touting a lower TDP, proving just how efficient Zen 3 really is.

AMD Ryzen 5000 Mobile Processors (35W/45W) Specs

Laptops featuring the AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors will be unveiled in just a bit, so stay tuned for more updates coming from CES 2021 featuring the latest AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors!

Pokdepinion: Can’t wait to see the designs that the AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors will appear in!