[CES 2025] AMD Introduces More Ryzen 9000X3D CPUs, Radeon RX 9070 GPUs & Full Laptop APU Range

AMD is kicking off the CES 2025 event with silicon extravaganza this time around, launching the full lineup of laptop CPUs in several new designs, along with the addition of two new Ryzen 9000X3D desktop CPUs, and the official debut of the RDNA4-based Radeon RX 9070 series GPUs.

Desktop: Ryzen 9 9950X3D & 9900X3D

Starting off with the new desktop processors, AMD has announced two new models to accompany the Ryzen 7 9800X3D in the second-gen 3D V-Cache lineup. Unlike the previous generation, the new Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9900X3D shares the same TDP rating as their standard counterparts to provide more multi-core grunt, all while offering the extra cache to boost gaming or memory-dependent workloads.

All of these are achieved through the new stacking design that puts the cores above the cache layer, which facilitates better thermal transfer. If our Ryzen 7 9800X3D review is any indication, these new chips should perform just as well in conventional workloads.

GPU: Radeon RX 9070 XT & RX 9070

On the GPU front, AMD is not fully unveiling its latest creation just yet, but there are several new key information for the next-gen architecture. For starters, the chipmaker is putting the MCM design on hold this time around, sticking to 4nm monolithic designs; major components like compute units, AI compute, ray tracing and media encoders all get a spec bump as well.

AI is a major talking point for RDNA4, and AMD has two ways of utilizing that. The first is using machine learning to further improve the new FSR4 upscaling and frame generation algorithm, which is specifically designed for RDNA4 GPUs; the other aspect of AI usage is to perform local image generation, and content summarization through a chatbot comparable to NVIDIA’s ChatRTX feature.

Two new GPUs will be launching this quarter, and they are once again rebranded with a new naming scheme. This time around, AMD has been pretty upfront about the reasoning of its decision to use the third digit as the segment differentiator: to allow consumers to directly compare to NVIDIA’s counterparts. (AMD also said it aligns with CPU’s 9000 series lineup.) As a side note, the skip from 7 to 9 is to slot the number 8 for RDNA3.5 GPUs found in Ryzen AI Max processors, which we’ll talk in a bit.

Mobile / Laptop APUs

Ryzen AI Max Series

The Apple M-Series killer is here: meet the new Ryzen AI Max series, packed to the brim with 16 Zen5 cores, up to 40 Compute Units based on RDNA3.5 GPU architecture, 50 TOPS from the XDNA2-based NPU, and the new ultra-fast 256GB/s memory – these chips will represent AMD as the most powerful laptop processors on the market (and on the Windows camp).

AMD touts its new latest-and-greatest Ryzen AI Max+ 395 capable of beating Apple’s M4 Pro SoC in various rendering workloads; and it’s simply a no-contest comparing to Intel’s Lunar Lake processors that represents Team Blue’s alternative approach to system-on-a-chip (SoC) designs.

For consumer laptops, AMD offers three Ryzen AI Max SKUs available, with the flagship 395 variant having a special “Max+” branding to differentiate itself from others. Also available are the PRO variants intended for commercial applications, and they get one extra SKU in the form of the 6-core, 16-CU model which would be substantially less powerful than the top models. Three models are announced today packing this new chip, including two HP workstations (one laptop and one tower PC), and the return of ASUS ROG Flow Z13 gaming tablet.

Ryzen AI 300 (Advanced) Series

Since introducing the Ryzen AI 300 series last year, the lineup lacked options to address the cheaper parts of the laptop market, so here’s the answer. AMD designates these newly-launched processors under the “Advanced” series (Ryzen AI 9 models are labeled as “Premium” series) with Ryzen AI 7 350 and Ryzen AI 5 340, along with their corresponding PRO variants. It’s worth noting that the detailed core configuration (Zen5 cores vs. Zen5c cores) isn’t specified in this product list.

The chipmaker claims better multi-core performance against Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus, as well as Intel Core Ultra 7 258V with a lead of 35% and 30% respectively; NPU is also claimed to be fastest, but this is largely a moot point as performance-sensitive use cases for NPUs remain limited today. Battery life is claimed to last over 24 hours in video playback, though this is something that can only be verified through real-life testing.

Ryzen 9000HX “Fire Range” Series

For the heavyweight laptops, AMD presents its latest Ryzen 9000HX series that shares most of its components with the desktop Ryzen 9000 processors. Three SKUs are announced today: the sole 3D V-Cache variant in the form of Ryzen 9 9955HX3D with 16 Zen5 cores and 144MB of combined L2+L3 cache, along with the standard 16-core Ryzen 9 9955HX and 12-core Ryzen 9 9850HX.

Ryzen Z2 Series

Next up is the Ryzen Z2 series designed for gaming handhelds: three variants are announced, with the Ryzen Z2 Extreme leading the charge set to power high-end gaming handhelds; the Ryzen Z2 is only cut down in GPU cores, but earlier rumors suggested that these chips are powered in different CPU and GPU architectures, making them largely incomparable as far as this chart is concerned.

Ryzen 200 Series

Finally, the mainstream laptop market will be served with a refresh of Ryzen 8000 series (which in itself is a refresh of Ryzen 7000 series), this time in the rebranded form of Ryzen 200 series, sans ‘AI’ branding. Most of these chips still offer basic NPU performance, but not enough to be qualified for Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC standard; a total of 11 models are announced here in both standard and PRO variants spanning across 4 to 8-core options.

And there you have it, all the processors and GPUs AMD is announcing today on CES 2025, which will be gradually released in the coming months. Expect laptops to be announced by respective OEMs with these new chips, with availability expected to begin soon.

Pokdepinion: This might be the biggest laptop CPU launch I’ve seen from AMD. There’s a lot of chips!