A Guide to AMD's Announced Processors from CES
January 7, 2025
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AMD Ryzen AI Max+ PRO
Summary
Some of the most exciting laptop processors announced at CES were from AMD's lineup, so how do you figure out which ones are right for you? We're here to help.
Table of contents:
For Gaming
Ryzen AI Max Series (Strix Halo)
The most interesting offering in their CES lineup, which also happens to have the most ridiculous name, is the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 395. This is because this APU will include 16 performance cores and 40 graphics cores that are able to access 75% of system memory. This will be great for ML and Data Science. Not to mention, we've seen some Geekbench leaks that say it'll perform around an M4 Pro 12-core CPU. When looking at their specs, the graphics on the "+" version seem to be better, but both variants are likely to be stronger than your standard integrated graphics.
The "PRO" naming scheme indicates that it's the business/enterprise version. That SKU will feature more security features and serviceability for an organization. The only other difference I could find is that the "Max PRO"s offer a 6-core variant that the "Max" only section does not, the 380 chip.
Here are the seven announced SKUs and the details we have:
Ryzen 9 9000HX3D Series (Fire Range)
These chips will be released in gaming laptops like ASUS’s Strix G16, which is a less premium little brother to Taylor's favorite the Strix Scar 18. From the specs we are seeing here, these are going to slot in nicely right above the Zen 5 (Strix Point) release from midway through last year.
All three of the announced Fire Range SKUs have a base TDP of 54 watts. But, these numbers are pretty meaningless as manufacturers often feed these laptops higher power for more performance. It really comes down to what the laptop can effectively cool without sounding like a fighter jet. Higher power draw means more heat output and more annoying fan noise.
AMD claims their highest end Fire Range, the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D is the “world’s best gaming and content creation mobile processor”. This would surely be interesting if it proved to be true in our testing.
For Home, Office or School
Ryzen 5 & 7 (Krackan Point)
These are the Ryzen 5 and 7 chips built on the newest Zen 5 architecture set to be released in the first quarter of 2025. They will be lower core count chips offered in less powerful laptops like the Zenbook 14. The chips announced are named the Ryzen AI 7 350 and Ryzen AI 5 340. There was also a PRO version announced of both of these chips, but just like the Strix Halo ones, I literally cannot determine the difference between them. I’m hopeful there is one though, so people aren’t just paying more for nothing.
Ryzen 200 (Hawk Point)
Yes, you read that right. These are actually a rebrand of the previously launched Hawk Point chips. You may also know them as the Zen 4 8000 series. Following the 300 branding of all of their new chips, AMD has named these to place them clearly below their newer ranges. This is one of the few naming decisions I wholeheartedly agree with here, as having a smaller number makes it clear it is a worse chip. Despite it being an older chip range renamed, we are seeing the Zephyrus G14 continue its use of the Hawk Point architecture this year.
