Ryzen (Zen)

Update: Data sheet added | Lenovo is preparing to launch a new ThinkPad: The Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 3 of the affordable ThinkPad E series updates the established design of the E14 Gen 2 with newer internals, a bigger battery and a new chassis color option.

AMD might scrap plans of introducing a Zen 3 Refresh later this year. Codenamed Warhol, the speculated Ryzen 6000 family is considered to offer between 9% and 12% increased performance over Zen 3 Ryzen 5000. The probable reason for cancellation could be related to supply issues, but whether this decision makes sense or not can only be ascertained once Intel launches Alder Lake in Q4 this year.

Rumors seem to suggest a decent performance gain of up to 12% in moving from AMD Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 Vermeer to Zen 3+ Ryzen 6000 Warhol. Warhol is expected to taken on Intel's Alder Lake hybrid CPU offerings due later this year. We are also hearing that Zen 4 Raphael Ryzen 7000 may offer a huge 45% IPC increase from Zen 2 and could pose a threat to Intel's Raptor Lake offerings in 2022.

New computer processor performance ranking charts for the first quarter of 2021 have been published by the Chinese benchmark Master Lu. The tables reveal a familiar tale: AMD dominates in performance thanks to chips like the Ryzen Threadripper 3990X, Ryzen 9 5950X, and Ryzen 9 5900HX, but Intel is still far ahead in market share.

AMD's upcoming Van Gogh APU with a Zen 2 CPU and RDNA2 iGPU will likely be positioned as a viable alternative to Tiger Lake-UP4 while offering support for LPDDR5 memory. Van Gogh could make for good test bed for AMD to test out RDNA2 iGPU implementation for upcoming APUs including Dragon Crest, Rembrandt, and probably even Raphael.

The same 12-liter chassis from previous Corsair One mini ITX models can now be equipped with up to an AMD Ryzen 9 5900X or Intel Core i9-11900K, plus a desktop-grade RTX 3080 GPU. The systems also include 32 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, 1 TB NVMe + 2 TB HDD storage combo and quad video outputs. The Intel models come with a Thunderbolt 3 port.

AMD has released its Ryzen 5000G and Ryzen 5000GE-series of desktop processors with integrated graphics. There are currently three SKUs in each series, with the Ryzen 7 5700G being the top-end model. AMD claims the new OEM-only Cezanne Zen 3 desktop APUs have “the world’s fastest graphics in a desktop processor” with the presence of up to a Radeon Vega 8 iGPU.

Acer is now offering select configurations of its refreshed Nitro 5 lineup in India. The Nitro 5 will be available in both Intel and AMD flavors. The Intel SKUs feature a Core i5-11300H with GTX 1650 graphics while the AMD variants are powered by a Ryzen 5 5600H with a choice of either the RTX 3060 or the GTX 1650. Unfortunately, the higher spec options in the global variants are not yet available for the Indian market.

The new Inspiron 14 7415 convertibles come equipped with the Ryzen 5 5500U or Ryzen 7 5700U Lucienne Zen 2 APUs, 1080p 360-degree touchscreens, up to 16 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and up to 2 TB of NVMe SSD storage + and SD card reader. Unfortunately, there is no discrete graphics option like on the Intel variants.

Key specifications for the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5750G, Ryzen 5 PRO 5650G, and Ryzen 3 PRO 5350G desktop APUs have been shared online. Unsurprisingly, the Ryzen PRO 5000G chips should offer the same specs and performance as the regular Cezanne Zen 3 desktop APU counterparts, but with the added benefit of AMD’s PRO technologies for business.

An AMD Ryzen 7 5700G desktop APU, which has appeared in a live image, has been put through both CPU and GPU benchmark tests. While the CPU part delivered a single-thread test score that places the Ryzen 5000 Cezanne chip way beyond its Renoir counterpart Ryzen 7 4700G, the Vega 8 GPU part is something of a letdown.

A new leak has further confirmed that AMD Ryzen 7000 Raphael will indeed be based on the 5 nm Zen 4 architecture and will also include a Navi 2x iGPU making it the first mainstream AMD processor to offer integrated graphics. Apart from Raphael, the 6 nm Rembrandt Zen 3 mobile parts will also sport RDNA 2 onboard graphics.

A timely reminder has been shared of how the current global chip famine has affected processor prices, in this case specifically for the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X. While retailers who have tried to stay close to MSRP are invariably out of stock, those with Ryzen 9 5950X CPUs to sell are mostly setting astronomical price tags for the Zen 3 powerhouse.

Even though the non-X processors come with a 61.5% lower TDP, 700 MHz lower base clock and 100 MHz lower boost clocks, the performance loss is barely noticeable with the UserBenchmark suite versus the 5900X models. The Ryzen 9 5900 is an OEM-only model and is now available in select pre-built gaming rigs like the Alienware Aurora.

The PN51 models come with the same chassis from last year's PN50 models and only support the Zen 2 Lucienne Ryzen 5000U processors. Despite using the same Zen 2 cores as the Ryzen 4000U models, the Lucienne processors come with upgraded memory controllers and can be coupled with up to 32 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM plus up to 2 TB of storage. There also is support for up to 4x 4K monitors.

PassMark’s CPU Mark single-thread performance chart for desktop processors now features a few more new Intel Rocket Lake chips, which have offered up a mixed bag of results. While the Intel Core i9-11900K still reigns and the i9-11900KF has performed well, both AMD’s Ryzen 5000 and Apple’s M1 have remained steadfast.

Some AMD Radeon RX 6800M specs have been revealed to us via a new leak. The Navi 22-based mobile graphics card with 12GB of VRAM has been spotted on an Asus laptop alongside a high-end Cezanne processor. It is expected to feature up to 40 CUs and draw 145W of power.

Steam has published its hardware and software survey for March and yet again AMD has pinched some more processor usage share away from Intel. However, there has been a small increase for Team Blue with Linux-based systems, and there must be some hope that Rocket Lake has the cash registers ringing soon.

An AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5750G desktop APU engineering sample has had its CPU-Z benchmark results shared, once again showing decent single-thread performance that went beyond the Ryzen 7 4700G and Intel Core i9-10900K. The Ryzen 7 PRO 5750G will be an enterprise-oriented variant of the Cezanne Zen 3 Ryzen 7 5700G APU.

AMD will reportedly improve the supply of its much-desired Ryzen 5000 chips during the second quarter of 2021. Huge demand has overwhelmed the chip designer, leading to price premiums being placed on SKUs like the Ryzen 9 5900X and Ryzen 9 5950X. The supply bump comes just in time to counter Intel’s Rocket Lake series availability.

The inclusion of the RTX 3070 Max-Q mobile dGPU seems to be suggesting that Razer's thin and light chassis on the upcoming AMD-powered 14-inch models only allow for lower-TGP dGPU options. Can Razer also add an RTX 3080 Max-Q and are these options really making sense for such price premiums when Lenovo is offering the Max-P versions on the Legion 5 Pro and Legion 7 with superior price/performance ratios?

MINISFORUM's first mini PC of the month has a Ryzen 5 4500U inside, can be pre-ordered with 16/256 GB or 16/512 GB of memory/storage, and shipments should begin at the end of the month. The prices start at US$699 for the first configuration and go up to US$739 for the second one.

The Intel Core i9-11900K has been tested alongside an Intel Core i9-10900K and an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X in a barrage of Unreal Engine benchmarks. The Comet Lake part and Zen 3 chip performed well in the game engine tests, but the Rocket Lake i9-11900K simply appeared to be on the verge of obsolescence here.

Asus touts its new ROG Flow X13 as a Swiss army knife for consumers who are into content-creation as well as gaming, thanks to Ryzen 5000-series processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics. Initial European pricing and availability for this interesting 2-in-1 has now been announced; however, the OEM has yet to mention a release for its optional, RTX 3080-toting ROG XG Mobile eGPU in this market.

A TechTuber has offered up some staggering guesses for the potential performance of future M1 Apple Silicon SoCs. With an M1Z chip defeating a Ryzen Threadripper 3990X in Geekbench multi-core and an M1P part surpassing a GeForce RTX 3080 in OpenCL, it seems AMD and Nvidia will also be joining Intel in facing the Apple SoC threat.

An intriguing Unreal Engine comparison featuring a whole range of high-powered processors has been carried out by Puget Systems, with the very expensive AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3995WX coming out on top. The test also featured the Zen 3 Ryzen 9 5950X, AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper 3990X, and even a Comet Lake Intel Core i9-10900K.

An AMD Ryzen 7 Microsoft Surface Edition (MSE) listing has been spotted on UserBenchmark. This APU, which is likely to be the Ryzen 7 4980U, is expected to feature in the upcoming Microsoft Surface Laptop 4. It is not clear why Microsoft wouldn't use the latest Ryzen 5000 APUs, but there's a possibility that this is actually a lower tier SKU of the Surface Laptop or that this APU is, in fact, a custom Lucienne part.

We learned earlier that there was a Razer laptop with an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 in the works. It has made its first appearance on the 3D Mark Time Spy database as the Razer PI411. This particular variant appears to have 16GB of RAM and a 512GB NVMe SSD.

MINISFORUM's latest creation comes with a Ryzen 5 3450U that features Radeon Vega 8 graphics, at least 8/256 GB of memory/storage, and shipments should begin at the end of next month. The prices start at US$539 for the aforementioned configuration and can go up to US$599 for the 16/512 GB variant.

A new leak from Twitter suggests that Razer is working on a laptop powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060. It is touted to ship with a 14-inch screen, too. Unfortunately, there is no information about its remaining specifications and release date at this moment.

The Pulse 15 by Tuxedo is a 15-inch Ultrabook with fast AMD Ryzen CPU and large battery. Throw in a matte IPS display and good input devices, and you've got yourself a decent overall package.

AMD has reportedly become TSMC’s number one customer in regard to purchasing 7nm wafers. Apple was previously the main customer for this node but has now moved its focus mainly on to 5nm. By securing more of TSMC’s 7nm output, AMD might be able to tackle the shortage of Ryzen 5000 chips and ensure delivery for EPYC Milan orders.

Intel recently unveiled yet another boost technology set to debut exclusively on its top-tier Rocket Lake S i9-11900K CPU. Adaptive Boost will allow the processor to hit up to 5.1 GHz on all cores, assuming cooling is up to snuff and temperatures are below 70 degrees C.

Linux kernel code has revealed some details about AMD’s Van Gogh Ryzen 5000 ULV mobile APU series. Apparently, the processors will offer support for 256-bit DDR5 memory, which is a step up from Renoir APUs. Unsurprisingly, the appearance of an AMD APU with greater potential graphics processing has led to renewed Microsoft handheld/Xbox portable console rumors.

A Tiger Lake-H45 processor in the form of the Intel Core i7-11800H has been spotted on Geekbench, seemingly as a key component in a new Samsung Notebook 7 Force laptop. The i7-11800H hit 4.59 GHz and offered mixed results against the Intel Core i7-10875H and slight gains against the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H.

The Apple M1 processor has been placed at the top of PassMark’s latest single-thread performance chart for laptop chips, despite its average CPU Mark and single-thread rating having fallen slightly. This puts the hybrid M1 Apple Silicon, which is found in laptops and desktops, ahead of strong rivals such as the Ryzen 9 5900HX and Ryzen 9 5980HS.

The latest mini PC by MINISFORUM features a Ryzen 7 PRO 2700U processor, Radeon Vega 10 graphics, and shipments should begin at the end of the month. In addition to this quad-core processor, the first two hardware configurations announced feature 16/256 GB (US$499) and 16/512 GB (US$539) of DDR4 memory/SSD storage.

An AMD Radeon RX 6600M has been spotted as part of the hardware configuration for a device apparently being tested on a well-known gaming benchmark. Not only does this seemingly confirm the RX 6600M should be coming soon, but the GPU also appears alongside a surprising Ryzen 5000 CPU that hints at a Zen 3/RDNA 2 laptop in the works for 2021.

The Apple M1 SoC, also frequently known as Apple Silicon, has made a ground-breaking entry into PassMark’s CPU Mark chart for single-thread performance. The Apple M1’s rating placed it above the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and nipping at the heels of the Intel Core i7-11700K, thus unsettling the AMD/Intel establishment with its presence.

The 64-core, 128-thread AMD EPYC 7713 Milan server processor has appeared on Geekbench and produced a multi-core result that has put the competition to the sword. The 64-core Ryzen Threadripper 3990X and, understandably, the 28-core Intel Xeon W-3175X are completely outscored by the monstrous EPYC 7713.

The Intel Core i7-11700K has made an incredible impact at a highly contentious synthetic benchmark site. The Rocket Lake-S part has outscored the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X in multi-core tests and has achieved a record average benchmark percentage of 113%, leaving the competition far behind. However, the i7-11700K managed these feats on UserBenchmark.

We compared the Apple M1's performance in CPU benchmarks against the AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS in the Asus ROG Flow X13, the Core i9-10980HK, and the Core i7-1185G7 and found that native benchmarks such as Cinebench R23 and Geekbench 5.3 indicate clear leads for Apple Silicon in single-core performance despite operating in just a 10 W TDP envelope. We see that Intel Tiger Lake Core i7-1185G7 is able to match the M1 in single-core tests but loses out significantly in multi-core tests.

Steam has published its Hardware & Software Survey for February and AMD has managed to gain further processor usage share from Intel. However, while things look rosy for AMD at the moment, the supply situation could give the upcoming Intel Rocket Lake series an upper hand over the Ryzen 5000 range.

Two new Dell G5 15 gaming laptop variants have been found online. The first one is called the Dell G5 15 5510 and it features an Intel Core i5-10200H processor and a GeForce GTX 1650, which will allegedly retail for US$899. On the other hand, the Dell G5 15 5515 will come with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU and a GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card.