AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 vs AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

AMD Ryzen AI 9 365

The Ryzen AI 9 365 is a relatively powerful Strix Point family processor that debuted in June 2024. The chip features 10 CPU cores running at 2.0 GHz to 5.0 GHz, along with the 12 CU RDNA 3.5 Radeon 880M graphics adapter and the 50 TOPS XDNA 2 neural engine. Other key features include PCIe 4, USB 4 and LPDDR5x-7500 RAM support.

Of the 10 CPU cores, 4 are full Zen 5 cores with the other 6 being smaller Zen 5c cores. The latter probably run at somewhat lower clock speeds than the former. In the meantime, the more expensive Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 has both more CPU cores and a faster 16 CU integrated graphics adapter.

Architecture and Features

Strix Point family APUs are powered by Zen 5 and Zen 5c microarchitecture cores found in two separate clusters, the latter being a slightly slower, smaller and more energy-efficient version of the former. One of the differences between Zen 5 and Zen 5c is cache size; Zen 5 cores have larger caches to work with.

Either way, mobile Zen 5 implementation is reportedly (ChipsAndCheese) closer to desktop Zen 4 than to desktop Zen 5 due to differing cache sizes, vast differences in AVX-512 throughput and other factors.

Elsewhere, the Ryzen AI 9 chip supports DDR5-5600 and LPDDR5x-7500 RAM, giving system designers a choice between lower latency and higher throughput respectively. The chip is natively compatible with USB 4 (and therefore Thunderbolt). It has PCIe 4.0 support for throughput of 1.9 GB/s per lane, just like its 8000 series predecessors did. The integrated XDNA 2 NPU, which is a lot more complex than first-gen XDNA was, delivers up to 50 INT8 TOPS for accelerating various AI workloads.

As is usual for laptop CPUs, the Ryzen is not user-replaceable as it gets soldered down for good.

Performance

At 30 W, this Ryzen AI 9 series CPU is only just fast enough to compete with much older chips such as the Ryzen 9 4900H and Ryzen 9 PRO 6950HS in multi-threaded benchmarks, suggesting power efficiency is the focus here rather than sheer performance.

Graphics

The Radeon 880M is the direct successor to the 780M. It packs just a few differences under the hood, such as faster caches; its 12 RDNA 3.5 architecture CUs/WGPs (768 unified shaders) run at up to 2,900 MHz. With well over 30 fps in both Once Human and The First Descendant (1080p - Low), this iGPU is certainly fast enough for a fair bit of casual as well as competitive gaming.

Naturally, the Radeon is capable of driving four SUHD 4320p60 monitors simultaneously. It can also efficiently encode and decode the most popular video codecs such as AVC, HEVC, VP9 and AV1. The latest addition to that list, the VVC codec, is not supported unlike it is with Intel Lunar Lake chips.

Power consumption

The 365 is supposed to have a base TDP of 28 W, with laptop makers free to crank it up to up to 54 W. Which they will most likely do to maximize performance.

The 4 nm TSMC process that these CPUs are built with makes for above average, as of late 2024, energy efficiency.

AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is a powerful Strix Point family processor that debuted in June 2024. The APU comes with 12 CPU cores running at 2.0 GHz to 5.1 GHz, the 16 CU RDNA 3+ Radeon 890M graphics adapter and the 50 TOPS XDNA 2 neural engine. Other noteworthy features include PCIe 4, USB 4 and LPDDR5x-8000 RAM support.

Of the 12 CPU cores, 4 are full Zen 5 cores and 8 are smaller Zen 5c cores. The latter run at significantly lower clock speeds than the former.

Architecture and Features

Strix Point family APUs are powered by Zen 5 and Zen 5c microarchitecture cores, the latter being a slightly slower, smaller and more energy-efficient version of the former. One of the differences between Zen 5 and Zen 5c is cache size; Zen 5 cores have larger caches to work with. According to AMD, Zen 5 delivers a 16% IPC improvement over Zen 4 thanks to branch prediction improvements and other refinements.

Elsewhere, the HX 370 supports LPDDR5x-8000 and DDR5-5600 RAM, and is natively compatible with USB 4 (and therefore Thunderbolt). It has PCIe 4.0 support for a throughput of 1.9 GB/s per lane, just like its 8000 series predecessors did. The integrated XDNA 2 NPU delivers up to 50 INT8 TOPS for accelerating various AI workloads.

Performance

Given the IPC improvement, we expect 4 Zen 5 cores combined with 8 Zen 5c cores to perform about as well as 16 Zen 4 cores meaning there is a real chance of the HX 370 dethroning the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D. We'll make sure to update this section once we get our hands on a laptop powered by the HX 370.

Graphics

The Radeon 890M is the most powerful iGPU that AMD has on offer right now. It features 16 RDNA 3+ architecture CUs (1024 unified shaders) running at up to 2,900 MHz. We expect the graphics adapter to deliver gaming performance good enough for playing 2023 and 2024 games in 1080p (Low detail settings).

Naturally, the 890M is capable of driving four SUHD 4320p60 monitors. It can also efficiently encode and decode the most popular video codecs including AVC, HEVC, VP9 and AV1. The latest addition to that list, the VVC codec, is not supported unlike it is with Intel Lunar Lake chips.

Power consumption

The HX 370 is supposed to have a base TDP of 28 W, with laptop makers free to crank it up to up to 54 W. Which they will most likely do to maximize performance.

The 4 nm TSMC process that the CPU cores are built with make for decent, as of mid 2024, energy efficiency.