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AMD’s latest laptop processor will have Intel seriously worried | CES 2020

AMD revealed the Ryzen 7 4800U mobile CPU at CES 2020, calling it the “world’s highest-performing ultra-thin laptop processor”

The Ryzen 7 4800U mobile processor is based on 7nm architecture and features eight Zen 2 cores and sixteen threads, with AMD claiming it’s capable of boosted clock speeds up to 4.2GHz. 

AMD even boasts this new chip is more powerful than Intel’s Ice Lake chip, presenting a graph showing the Ryzen 7 4800U sees a +4% single-core performance, +90% multi-thread performance and +28% graphics performance over the Intel Core Intel Core i7-1065G7 mobile processor. 

Related: Intel Ice Lake

It is worth noting the Intel Core i7-1065G7 used for reference isn’t Intel’s most powerful Ice Lake processor, with the Intel Core i7-1068G7 offering superior base and boosted clock speeds. It is somewhat strange then, that AMD didn’t use the more powerful Intel chip for comparison, although this could be argued to be because of the difference in price and TDP.

Picture from an event about AMD Ryzen Mobile 4000 series

It’s not just the performance where the Ryzen 7 4800U excels, as AMD also stressed this new chip offers great battery efficiency. Compared to AMD’s previous generation mobile chip, the new Ryzen 7 4800U reportedly sees a 124% performance-per-watt boost, maximising the efficiency of the chip. This should theoretically see laptops last longer before requiring a refill at the mains. 

One of the very first laptops to see the Ryzen 7 4800U processor will be the Lenovo Yoga 7, which will apparently become the world’s thinnest and lightest 8-core laptop once it launches in Q1 2020. Over 100 more laptops are expected to launch throughout 2020 featuring the Ryzen 7 4800U chip. 

Related: CES 2020

Ryzen 7 4800U Intel Core i7-1065G7 Intel Core i7-1068G7
Cores 8 4 4
Threads 16 8 8
Base Clock Speed (GHz) 1.8 1.3 2.3
Boost clock speed (GHz) 4.2 3.9 4.1
Graphics Radeon Iris Plus Iris Plus
TDP (Watts) 15 15 28

If the performance figures are accurate, it’s a worrying sign for Intel. Intel championed its Ice Lake mobile processors as having the best integrated graphics for consumer laptops, so it’s a real shock that AMD’s new chip reportedly has a 28% performance advantage over the Intel Core i7-1065G7. 

With AMD doing excellent recently in closing the performance gap with Intel for desktop processors, it’s not a major surprise to see them doing the same in the mobile processor space. Intel will no doubt strike back though, having already teased its Tiger Lake mobile processor during CES 2020, which is touted as the Ice Lake successor. 

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