For the sake of transparency, AMD has created a nomenclature to classify its processors. Concern ? It is both complex, incomplete (it does not mention the iGPU, which is critical) and limited in time. Here we give you the keys to decode it. As well as the technical details of the whole new mobile range!
This week, AMD announced several processors at CES, ranging from models for tower PCs to laptops. In this category, we have already told you about the Ryzen 7040 Mobile which are at the cutting edge of all technologies – 4 nm engraving, Zen 4 CPU cores, RDNA 3 GPU and first integration of an AI chip.
But AMD has launched no less than five series of new mobile chips: the 7045, the 7040 (which we told you about), the 7035, the 7030 and the 7020. And the least we can say is that telling the difference between all these chips is not the easiest thing. Because AMD now has a large number of generations of CPU and GPU cores up its sleeve. On all of these five ranges, the company deploys no less than four generations (or evolutions) of CPUs (Zen2, Zen 3, Zen 3+ and Zen4) and three generations of GPUs (Vega, RDNA 2 and RDNA 3) , four fineness of engraving (7 nm, 6 nm, 5 nm and 4 nm) as well as a new type of logic block (the IA coprocessor, exclusive to the 7040).
A logical nomenclature… but hard to follow
The best is the enemy of the good: this adage is verified by AMD’s desire for transparency in its new nomenclature, of which we have given you a summary table below. Take a good look at the first number: do you see the first flaw? Yes: from 2026, it will be obsolete! So no need to learn it by heart. Keep this article handy and don’t get too used to it, from 2026 AMD will be forced to change its names!
Then, while it has become an element much more likely to make a difference than CPU power, the nature of the GPU is excluded. However, between a 4/8 core Zen 3 and 4/8 core Zen 3+ processor at frequencies approaching, the differences in performance are difficult to perceive. On the other hand, the transition from an integrated GPU (iGPU) Vega at 8 CU to an RDNA 2 at 12 CU almost doubles the performance in game!
To complicate the task a little more, AMD can aggregate cores to increase 3D performance (4, 6, even 8 RDNA cores for example). Thus, the Vega 8 iGPU (8 CU therefore) of the Ryzen 7030 series will be more efficient than the two small graphics cores (2 CU) RDNA 2 of the Ryzen 7020 series… but the multimedia encoding engine of the latter is more modern and therefore more efficient.
To put the processors in context, here is a summary table of all the Ryzen 7000 Mobile chips announced at this CES 2023. It will save you from having to spend your time referring to the previous explanatory table to decode the hieroglyphs of AMD’s engineers. Teams certainly well intentioned, but who have perhaps not taken the measure of the complexity of their classification!
And we’ll give you an appointment in 2025-2026 to start all over again!
