ryzen mobile | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Tue, 08 Mar 2022 08:10:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png ryzen mobile | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 AMD Ryzen 6000 Mobile ‘Rembrandt’ Launches – Zen 3+, RDNA2, DDR5 https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/laptops/luke-hill/amd-ryzen-6000-mobile-rembrandt-launches-zen-3-rdna2-ddr5/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/laptops/luke-hill/amd-ryzen-6000-mobile-rembrandt-launches-zen-3-rdna2-ddr5/#respond Thu, 17 Feb 2022 14:00:47 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=550630 Laptops powered by the new Zen 3+ ‘Rembrandt’ AMD Ryzen 6000 Mobile series processors have released today, marking the introduction of RDNA2 iGPUs, TSMC’s 6nm process node, and DDR5 memory to the world of AMD-based notebooks...

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Laptops powered by the new Zen 3+ ‘Rembrandt’ AMD Ryzen 6000 Mobile series processors have released today, marking the introduction of RDNA2 iGPUs, TSMC’s 6nm process node, and DDR5 memory to the world of AMD-based notebooks.

Our ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 sample – that is powered by the brand new Ryzen 9 6900HS processor and RX 6800S dGPU – is currently stuck in a European shipping depot. But for now, we will be examining the new technologies and features brought to the table with AMD’s introduction of the Ryzen 6000 Series mobile processors.

There are a few key features to highlight with Ryzen 6000 Series Mobile processors, and then some intricate details about the microarchitectural power optimisations that we will highlight later in this article.

Processor Features and Specifications:

First up are the core specifications of the processors themselves. AMD once again splits the Mobile line-up into U-series (15-28W TDP), HS-series (35W TDP), and H-series (45W+ TDP) options.

The flagship chip for each series has eight Zen 3+ cores and 16 threads, but they differ by their TDP-induced clock speeds and iGPU performance. There are also six-core, 12-thread Ryzen 5 options for U-, HS-, and H-series deployment.

As a side note, performance density for Ryzen 6000 should be improved versus Ryzen 5000 by way of greater transistor count, despite its (not proportionately) larger die area. Ryzen 6000 Mobile Series is 13.1 billion transistors at 210mm2, whereas Ryzen 5000 Mobile Series was 10.7 billion transistors at 180mm2.

For the H- and HS-series parts that utilise 35W+ TDPs, base clocks are 3.2GHz or 3.3GHz, with boost frequencies as high as 5.0GHz as you move up to the flagship options. Understandably, the U-series cranks this down a little with base clocks coming in shy of 3GHz and boosts around the mid-4GHz level.

Inside the 8-core Zen 3+ CCD, you still get the same 16MB slice of L3 cache that we saw with Zen 3. And that blends in with the 0.5MB of L2 cache per core that we are accustomed to. There are differences in how AMD uses the cache for Zen 3+, but in terms of quantities, it is much the same as raw Zen 3.

Where there has been a significant change is in the integrated graphics department. Finally, AMD has upgraded the on-chip cores to RDNA2 in its 12 Compute Unit form for Radeon 680M (6 CUs for Radeon 660M inside Ryzen 5).

Coined AMD Radeon 600M series, the ‘Navi’ architectural improvements that we have seen since 2019 on the desktop are now onboard the Mobile chips. This represents a huge upgrade versus the aged Vega-based CUs on AMD’s previous generation Mobile processors. Doubled L2 cache capacity, higher frequencies, and a larger render backend are just some of the notable improvements from RDNA2.

Speaking of higher frequencies, the Ryzen 9 chips now see maximum GPU frequencies as high as 2.4GHz which translates into 3.4 Teraflops FP32 peak performance. AMD is actually comparing gaming performance to something like a GTX 1650 Max-Q in the slides. But obviously that will require additional scrutiny from independent testing.

And feeding the higher performance graphics cores with higher memory bandwidth is achievable thanks to support for DDR5 and LPDDR5. This is AMD’s first consumer platform to support the latest memory technology, and the bandwidth that the higher speed DRAM brings has been highlighted as critical for integrated graphics performance.

The chip’s 128-bit flexible memory controllers permit support for DDR5-5200 4800 MT/s (Ed.: reference to 5200 MT/s in AMD's documents is a typo. 4800 MT/s is the correct supported DDR5 speed) and LPDDR5 6400 MT/s. This is good to see, especially with the memory bandwidth that on-chip support for 4800MHz+ frequencies permit.

Another key improvement – this time on the SoC side of things – is via enhanced connectivity support. And perhaps the star of that show is USB4.

Now, AMD is clear in highlighting that this is still in the stages of certification for many systems. But we will start to see certified systems in March, and some current hardware is shipping with USB4-enabled components that can be activated via updates.

Now it must be made clear that USB4 supports interoperability with Thunderbolt. But this is at the manufacturer’s discretion, so not all laptops will technically support TB hardware such as docks. In isolation, however, USB4 can offer many of the same features as Thunderbolt; up to 40Gbps transfer speeds, DisplayPort and PCIe tunnelling, and power delivery if deployed as USB-PD. But, once again, these features will differ based on the individual laptop.

PCIe Gen 4 support through the platform is finally added by AMD. You get eight lanes for a GPU and then twelve lanes additional connectivity for multiple high-bandwidth devices or NVMe SSDs.

This was an absolute necessity for Ryzen 6000 Mobile, as Intel has been offering PCIe Gen 4 on its laptop chips for a long time. And now that Gen 4 NVMe storage and dGPUs are commonplace, it really was a critical upgrade.

And another long overdue upgrade is to the on-chip media capabilities. The new 4th Gen Display Controller offers proper support for HDMI 2.1 (up to 48Gbps) and DisplayPort 2 – in quadruple monitor format, laptop dependent. This enables proper connectivity for 4K120 and 8K60 displays, as well as advanced colour profiles such as 10-bit colour, Dynamic HDR, and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR).

Importantly, the multimedia engines have been upgraded on the video (VCN 3.1) and audio (ACP6) fronts. The video codec was inferior to Intel’s competing – Tiger Lake-U – offerings for Ryzen 5000. So, it is good to see the updated VCN 3.1 deployment which should hopefully improve decode and encode performance.

H.264 8bpc and H.265 8bpc/10bpc hardware encoding is supported, but there’s still no hardware-accelerated VP9 capability. Decode capabilities are thorough, though, and AMD actually highlights on-die 8bpc/10bpc decode for the (still relatively) new AV1 codec.

AMD also highlights support for Microsoft Pluton to enable modern security features in Windows 11.

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AMD showcases Ryzen-based laptops https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/laptops/dominic-moass/amd-showcases-ryzen-based-laptops/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/laptops/dominic-moass/amd-showcases-ryzen-based-laptops/#respond Wed, 05 Sep 2018 15:18:17 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=385881 Just in time for the back to school season, we were invited to see some of the latest laptops utilising Ryzen Mobile processors. These included machines from the likes of Acer, ASUS and Lenovo, with a range of models on show aimed at different areas of the laptop market. While many different manufacturers were represented …

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Just in time for the back to school season, we were invited to see some of the latest laptops utilising Ryzen Mobile processors. These included machines from the likes of Acer, ASUS and Lenovo, with a range of models on show aimed at different areas of the laptop market.

While many different manufacturers were represented at this event, the laptops all had one thing in common – Ryzen Mobile processors. These have been around since the end of last year, but it seems AMD is making the mobile sector more of a focus again.

The laptops we saw, including the HP Envy X360 15″ (pictured above, left) and Dell Inspiron 7375 (pictured above, right) use a range of these processors, including the Ryzen 5 2500U and Ryzen 7 2700U. These are both quad-core CPUs, but the difference is with the graphics – as each Ryzen Mobile processor has Vega graphics cores built in. This technically makes them APUs, not CPUs, but AMD says it is still marketing them as CPUs for the sake of the everyday consumer who may not know the difference.

So, while the 2500U and 2700U both have 4-cores and 8-threads, the former has 8 Vega cores built in, while the latter ups this to 10 Vega cores. AMD says this means a Ryzen Mobile laptop will offer the same level of CPU performance as an Intel-based laptop – but you get far more for your money thanks to the built-in Vega graphics.

On top of this, AMD also says that having both computing and graphics contained within a single chip – instead of separate CPU and GPUs – has positive implications for power consumption and battery life.

On top of the Ryzen Mobile laptops on offer, we were also able to get hands-on with something a bit more meaty. Pictured above is the Acer Predator Helios 500. I actually first saw this laptop in May, at Acer's global product launch in New York. Back then, it was announced with an Intel i9 processor alongside GTX 1070 graphics.

This model, however, has made a radical switch to Team Red, by utilising a desktop Ryzen 7 2700 processor as well as a desktop Vega 56 graphics chip. This pairs nicely with the Freesync display, available as either a 1080p/144Hz or 4K/60Hz panel.

We don't yet have word on pricing for this model, but considering the Ryzen 7 2700 is a proper 8-core CPU, it looks like it would be an excellent portable workstation as well as gaming machine.

KitGuru says: It is good to see a range of CPU options in the laptop space again – Ryzen Mobile looks to offer a balanced experience for the every day user, while hardcore AMD gamers will find the Helios 500 to be right up their street.

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