AMD unveils next-gen Ryzen 8040 series mobile processors with improved AI performance

In a significant move, AMD has unveiled its latest Ryzen 8040 Series mobile processors, further solidifying its position as a leader in x86 processor performance. The new series, which includes an integrated Ryzen AI NPU on select models, marks a significant leap in AI processing performance, boasting up to 1.6x more power than previous AMD models. This advancement is set to usher in a new era of AI PCs, offering premium experiences and AI-ready capabilities.

The Ryzen 8040 Series processors are the newest addition to the robust Ryzen Series processor portfolio and are slated for broad availability from leading OEMs such as Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Razer, starting in Q1 2024.

Jack Huynh, SVP and GM of AMD computing and graphics business, expressed his excitement about the new series, stating, “We continue to deliver high performance and power-efficient NPUs with Ryzen AI technology to reimagine the PC. The increased AI capabilities of the 8040 series will now handle larger models to enable the next phase of AI user experiences.”

The Ryzen 8040 Series processors offer unparalleled performance, from everyday productivity to extraordinary content creation. The Ryzen 9 8945HS processor, in particular, offers up to 64% faster video editing and up to 37% faster 3D rendering than the competition, while gamers can enjoy up to 77% faster gaming performance.

Built on AMD’s “Zen 4” processor architecture, the Ryzen 9 8945HS, with up to eight cores capable of delivering up to 16 threads of processing power, offers leading single-core and multi-core performance. Coupled with AMD RDNA 3 architecture-based Radeon graphics and select systems powered by AMD XDNA architecture built for AMD Ryzen AI, the new processors are designed for creative professionals, gamers, and mainstream users seeking a powerful laptop with reliable performance today and the capability to run advanced AI experiences. Check out the full lineup below.

The latest Ryzen processors offer the highest performance available for ultrathin PC laptops and extended battery life through innovative power management features. They are the perfect choice for modern professionals, gaming enthusiasts, and creatives seeking faster and more power-efficient computing. The AMD Ryzen 8040 Series processors also support advanced LPDDR5 memory. With these new processors, users can enjoy immersive virtual experiences, gaming and streaming, and trust that their devices support demanding AI use cases while maintaining power efficiency.

The Ryzen 8040 processors are fully optimized for the Windows 11 ecosystem, including full support for Windows 11 security features. Select systems with an AMD Ryzen 8040 Series processor can also access out-of-the-box AI with Window Studio Effects Pack, enabling privacy at home or on-the-go with background blur, eye gaze tracking, and noise cancellation.

Pavan Davuluri, CVP Windows + Devices, Microsoft, expressed his excitement about the partnership with AMD, stating, “It’s been incredible to see AMD and Microsoft’s long partnership moving into the next wave of technology, bringing AI innovation to our shared customers. We’re so excited to see Ryzen 8040 Series processor-powered devices come to life in the Windows ecosystem and can’t wait to see what developers and customers do with all of this innovation.”

In addition to the hardware, AMD is also launching the Ryzen AI Software, making it possible for developers to build and deploy machine learning models trained in frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow and run them on select laptops powered by Ryzen AI. The software enables ONNX Runtime applications and offers a pre-optimized model zoo on Hugging Face, allowing users to get started and up and running AI models in minutes. Laptops with Ryzen AI can offload AI models to the NPU, thereby freeing up the CPU to reduce power consumption while extending battery life. As part of the Ryzen AI software launch, developers can take advantage of Ryzen AI to build AI applications with advanced gesture recognition, biometric authentication, and other accessibility features.

AMD has also announced the Pervasive AI Developers Contest to challenge developers to create innovative and exciting AI applications with use cases in data centers, workstations and laptops, gaming, robotics, and more. Applications for the complementary hardware closes on January 31.