AMD has now formally lifted the lid on a brand new gaming CPU vary for laptops, with the highest AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX chip sporting 16 cores and a prime clock velocity of 5.4GHz. Don’t get too excited, although, as these new CPUs bear many similarities to their predecessors. In reality, the above CPU mainly has the very same spec because the Ryzen 9 7945HX.
Certainly, this refresh of AMD’s Dragon Vary laptop computer CPUs solely seems to extend the clock speeds right here and there (however not in all places), and maybe extra importantly for advertising functions, places an “8” on the entrance of the mannequin names. However, we’re nonetheless anticipating these AMD chips for use in most of the greatest gaming laptop computer designs within the close to future, because the specs are nonetheless strong.
There’s no transfer to the brand new Zen 5 CPU structure right here, with the Dragon Vary refresh sticking with the older Zen 4 structure, and the chips nonetheless have the identical cache construction as their predecessors, in addition to the identical AMD Radeon 610M built-in graphics with two compute models based mostly on the growing older RDNA 2 structure. The manufacturing course of for all of the chips can also be precisely the identical. I invite you to play a sport of spot the distinction within the specs desk under.
| Ryzen 9 8945HX | Ryzen 9 7945HX | |
| Structure | Zen 4 | Zen 4 |
| Cores | 16 | 16 |
| Threads | 32 | 32 |
| Base clock | 2.5GHz | 2.5GHz |
| Increase clock | 5.4GHz | 5.4GHz |
| L1 cache | 1,024KB | 1,024KB |
| L2 cache | 16MB | 16MB |
| L3 cache | 64MB | 64MB |
| TDP | 55W | 55W |
A few of the chips do at the least present a distinction in clock velocity, although. For instance, the brand new AMD Ryzen 9 8940HX now has a most enhance clock of 5.3GHz, in comparison with 5.2GHz on the 7940HX, though they’re in any other case similar. Drop all the way down to the eight-core Ryzen 7 8745HX, and also you’ll once more see a really familiar-looking chip, although – it’s mainly precisely the identical because the earlier Ryzen 7 7745HX that got here earlier than it, together with the clock velocity.
All of which simply goes to point out that you simply don’t essentially must reinvent the wheel in each space. AMD has loads of genuinely thrilling improvements within the cell CPU enviornment, although. Specifically, the AMD Strix Halo chip used within the Asus ROG Stream Z13 takes the ability of built-in GPUs to an entire new degree, whereas the NPU utilized in its newest Ryzen AI CPUs is considerably extra highly effective than the one in Intel’s newest Arrow Lake CPUs.
Don’t be fooled by the mannequin numbers of those new chips, although. The one variations are the clock speeds, and a few of the new chips don’t even change that metric.
To get extra of an concept of what AMD’s very newest laptop computer CPU know-how can truly do, you may learn our Razer Blade 16 2025 assessment, because it contains the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. Additionally try our information to the perfect gaming CPU if you happen to assume your rig may do with a CPU improve quickly.
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