AMD Ryzen Pro 7040 processors launched for enterprise laptops
AMD's enterprise-centric Ryzen 6000 Pro line of CPUs were announced last year in April, complete with a ThinkPad-exclusive Ryzen 7 6860Z processor. Their Zen 4-based counterparts are finally here in the form of the Ryzen Pro 7040 series, but without an OEM-specific SKU. They are available in both HS and U flavours for workstation-grade and portable laptops.
Overall, there are a lot fewer CPUs this generation because AMD has merged its previous H and HS lineup. Now, the HS lineup all-encompassing with a TDP range of 35 to 54 Watts. The U series has remained more or less the same, but there is no Ryzen 3 model this time.
The Ryzen 9 Pro 7940HS is AMD's flagship processor this generation. It has 8 cores, 16 threads, base/boost clocks of 4.0/5.2 GHz, 24 MB cache and a TDP of up to 54 Watts. Next up, there's the Ryzen 8 Pro 7840HS with identical specs as its Ryzen 9 counterpart except for the clocks, which are set slightly lower at 3.8/5.1 GHz. It'll be interesting to see how they performs in the real world, given how close their specs are. Lastly, the entry-level Ryzen 5 7640HS packs 6 cores, 12 threads, 22 MB of cache and operates at 4.3 GHz (5.2 GHz boost).
Moving on to the U series, the top-spec model is the Ryzen 7 7840U with 8 cores, 16, threads, 28 Watt TDP, and a 5.1 GHz boost clock (3.1 GHz base). It is followed by two nearly-identical Ryzen 5 SKUs, the Ryzen 5 7640U and Ryzen 5 7540U, both of which have 6 cores, 12 threads and 22 MB of cache. Even their boost clocks are identical (5.2 GHz), with the only difference being the base clocks (3.5 GHz for the 7640U and 3.2 GHz for the 7540U).
AMD compares the Ryzen Pro 7040U series processors against similarly-specced competitors from Intel and Apple. The Ryzen 7 7840U is anywhere between 4% and 32% faster than the Core i7-1360P in Geekbench, PassMark 11 and PCMark 10.
Similarly, it is 10%, 9% and 15% faster than the Core i7-1370P in V-Ray, Monte Carlo and Convolution, respectively. Lastly, AMD claims the integrated Radeon Pro iGPU offers a 29% performance uplift over Intel's offering.
The Ryzen 7 7840U isn't nearly as impressive when compared to the Apple M2 Pro. It is only 5% faster in Cinebench R23 single-thread,3% in multi-thread and 11% in PassMark 11. The real-world differences could be a lot smaller or even tilt in the favour of the Apple M2 Pro.
Lastly, AMD compares the Ryzen Pro 9 7940HS to Intel's flagship Core i9-13900H. It is between 7% and 33% faster than the Raptor Lake offering across multiple workloads. The Core i9-13900HX would have been a more apt comparison due to its 55 Watt TDP.
AMD also includes a heap of extra security features with its Ryzen Pro 7040 lineup. Each model comes with a Microsoft Pluton chip that adds extra layers of security to software-based on-device protections. The Memory Guard feature helps bolster data security on lost and stolen devices.
Like its non-Pro Zen 4 offerings, the Ryzen Pro 7040 series also includes a dedicated AI chip. However, it isn't present on all SKUs, and, unfortunately, AMD hasn't mentioned which ones have it. While its immediate uses are unclear, it will help improve the quality of video calls in tandem with Windows Studio effects.
Laptops running Ryzen Pro 7040 silicon will launch later this year. They will include multiple Lenovo ThinkPad models and Zbook/EliteBook/ProBook models from HP.
Source(s)
AMD
