Rare AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS runs as fast as some 10th gen Core i9-10980HK laptops and at a lower TDP

Much like how the 35 W Ryzen 9 4900HS is the slightly slower version of the 45 W Ryzen 9 4900H, the 35 W Ryzen 7 4800HS is the slightly slower version of the 45 W Ryzen 7 4800H. AMD introduced the HS series specifically for smaller chassis designs like the Asus Zephyrus G14 while larger laptops like the Asus ROG G703 can utilize the full-power H series.

Based on our time with one of the first Ryzen 7 4800HS laptops available (Asus ROG G15 GA502IU), raw processor performance is impressive at only about 10 to 12 percent slower than the average Ryzen 7 4800H in multi-threaded loads. When considering that the 4800H is already outstanding, this puts the 4800HS on equal footing to many pricier 10th gen Comet Lake-H laptops running on the Core i9-10980HK like the Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G532LWS or MSI GE66 Raider 10SFS. The performance-per-watt and performance-per-dollar advantages of the 7 nm Zen 2 HS series against 14 nm Comet Lake-H shouldn't be overlooked.

As great as the Ryzen 7 4800HS may be, however, its main drawback is that it's a drop in the bucket when compared to the handful of Core i7 and Core i9 laptops users can already choose from. OEMs have been slow to adopt AMD Ryzen CPUs for their gaming laptops likely because to create such SKUs would require major internal changes to existing motherboards and software. In contrast, updating existing SKUs running on 9th gen Intel CPUs to 10th gen Intel CPUs would be a more straightforward process.

For now, users don't have much of an option outside of the mid-range Asus GA502IU if they want a Ryzen 7 4800HS laptop.