AMD has come up with a new naming scheme for their laptop processors and it is so confusing that we have only one question. Why AMD, Why?! With the incoming new laptops with AMD processors, it is time to understand how to read the AMD processor name so that you can make the right decision while buying the laptop.
Here’s a simple, consumer-friendly explanation of the new AMD laptop processor naming.
Also read: RDNA 3 laptop GPU faster than NVIDIA’s RTX 4060
How were AMD processors named before?
It is important to note that the naming scheme of the desktop processor has remained the same and has changed only for the laptop. Earlier, the processor was named something like this:
Ryzen 5 5600U or Ryzen 7 4800H
The ‘5’ after the Ryzen denotes the hierarchy of the processor. Since the number of cores in each category remains the same (usually), it also indicates the number of cores. Ryzen has 4 categories of processors – ‘3’, ‘5’, ‘7’ and ‘9’.
‘5’ also denotes that it is a 6-core processor and ‘7’ means that it’s an 8-core processor.
The ‘5’ in the 5600H denotes the generation of the processor. Here the 5600U is the Zen 3 or 5000 series of processors. Similarly, 4800H is the Zen2 processor or 4000 series processor.
The numbers after the ‘5’ and ‘7’ denotes the specific SKU of the processor. Generally, the higher the number, the better the processor.
The letter after the processor is an important designation which denotes the power (TDP) of the processor. ‘U’ means the processor is low-powered (15W) usually made for thin and low-powered laptops. ‘H’ denotes processors which are of higher TDP and are usually used for performance laptops.
New AMD processor naming explained
AMD processors now will be named in a different manner starting in 2023 and will remain the same going forward. Let’s take an example to understand it better.
Also Read: Ryzen 5 7600 vs Intel i5-13500
Ryzen 7 7735HS
Here the number after Ryzen and the end letter mean the same thing. Ryzen 7 is the hierarchy of the processor and signifies it has 8 cores. The end letter HS means it’s a higher TDP processor meant for performance laptops.
The first number ‘7’ denotes the model year. For all 2023 models, it will be 7; 8 for 2024 and so on.
The second number ‘7’ denotes the segment or hierarchy of the processor. Here the ‘7’ means it is Ryzen 7. Even ‘8’ can mean Ryzen 7.
The third number ‘3’ denotes the architecture or generation of the processor. Here ‘3’ stands for Zen 3, 4 for Zen 4 and so on.
The last number is the specific SKU which denotes the rank of a particular processor in that segment. With ‘0’ being the lowest and ‘5’ the highest, the higher the number, the better the performance (within the same segment)
How to differentiate between processors easily?
This can be quite confusing and the average consumer won’t be able to easily decipher this or make a proper comparison even after understanding what each number means. To make this easier, follow this process.
The first thing you should check is the third number and the number following the Ryzen. The third number gives the most vital information about the generation of the processor. If it is 3, it means Zen 3/Zen3+. If it is 2, it means Zen 2 or 3000 series.
Now that you know which generation the processor is, you can decipher whether it is lower tier Ryzen 3 or higher tier Ryzen 7 by looking at the number following the Ryzen.
Just by looking at these two numbers, you will most of the details needed. Now that you know which generation and tier the processor belongs to, you can check the letter to know if it is a high-performance processor or a low-powered processor meant for smaller laptops.
You can check the last number to compare processors in the same generation or tier to know which has better performance.
Also read: AMD laptop processors announced at the CES 2023
Let’s take another example: AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS
This is a Zen 4, Ryzen 5 processor with 35W+ TPD. It is a 6-core, 12-thread processor meant for gaming and content creation. Compared to Ryzen 5 7645HX, it is slightly less powerful.
Comparing AMD Ryzen 3 7330U and AMD Ryzen 3 7335U
Both are Zen 3, Ryzen 3 processors with 4-core and 8-threads. Both are low-powered processors with 15W to 28W TDP. Comparatively, Ryzen 3 7335U is a higher-tier processor which is denoted by the last number.
Conclusion
While this may be confusing to many, if read properly, this gives out a lot more information than before. It will most likely make no sense to many buyers and you still might need to know the exact specification of the processor which is not given on the laptop page.
You can check websites like TechPowerup to check the accurate specifications for any processor.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.