What just happened? AMD has unveiled its Ryzen Pro 8000 series processors for commercial desktops and the Ryzen Pro 8040 series processors for business laptops. Both lineups are designed for the so-called "AI PC" and offer improved AI processing capabilities compared to their predecessors. They will be available in a range of devices from leading PC vendors, including Lenovo and HP, starting in Q2 2024.
Built on the Zen 4 architecture, these are the first set of Pro chips from AMD to include built-in Neural Processing Units (NPUs) for AI workloads. They also come with integrated RDNA graphics.
According to AMD, the new Pro 8040 chips are the "most advanced x86 processors built for business laptops and mobile workstations," while the Pro 8000 series desktop processors are "engineered to deliver cutting-edge performance with low power consumption."
The NPU in the new processors is powered by AMD's XDNA engine, with the company claiming 16 TOPS of NPU performance and 39 TOPS of total system performance. Both figures are higher than Intel's latest flagship Core Ultra chip, which offers up to 11 TOPS of NPU performance and 34 TOPS of total system performance. However, it still falls short of the 45 TOPS of NPU performance that Microsoft requires for its AI PCs, something that Intel's upcoming Lunar Lake processors will bring to the table later this year.
The Ryzen Pro 8040 series is spearheaded by the Ryzen 9 Pro 8945HS, which features eight cores, 16 threads, 24MB of cache, and integrated Radeon 780M graphics. It operates at speeds of up to 5.2GHz and has a TDP ranging from 35 to 54W.
The lineup consists of seven additional SKUs, which include the Ryzen 7 Pro 8845HS, Ryzen 7 Pro 8840HS, Ryzen 5 Pro 8645HS, Ryzen 5 Pro 8640HS, Ryzen 7 Pro 8840U, Ryzen 7 Pro 8640U, and Ryzen 5 Pro 8540U.
The desktop lineup also comprises eight SKUs, with the flagship being the Ryzen 7 Pro 8700G, an eight-core, 16-thread chip boasting 24MB of cache, up to 5.1GHz of boost speed, and a 45-65W TDP. Other SKUs in the lineup include the Ryzen 5 Pro 8600G, Ryzen 5 Pro 8500G, Ryzen 3 Pro 8300G, Ryzen 7 Pro 8700GE, Ryzen 5 Pro 8600GE, Ryzen 5 Pro 8500GE, and Ryzen 3 Pro 8300GE.
Following the release of the new processors, Microsoft announced that they will come equipped with the Pluton security chip, a feature found in all AMD CPUs since Ryzen 6000. This chip is expected to safeguard user credentials, identities, personal data, and encryption keys on Windows 11 PCs.
Redmond also claimed that the new processors will enable IT managers to deploy devices up to 41 percent faster, although they did not specify the comparison benchmark.