Introducing the Cutting-Edge AMD Ryzen 8040 Mobile Processor: Harnessing the Power of Zen 4 and RDNA 3 Technologies. Certain Variants Experience Notable Reduction in Specifications.

AMD has unveiled the Ryzen 8040 Mobile chip (code-named Hawk Point) for laptops, marking a new upgrade after the Ryzen 7000 release earlier this year in 2023.

The reason for calling it Ryzen 8040 (ending in 40) is due to the new numbering system of Ryzen Mobile. The third digit in the model number of the Zen architecture signifies that all CPUs in this series utilize Zen 4 architecture.

Ryzen 8040 Mobile still utilizes Zen 4 CPUs, RDNA 3 GPU cores, and XDNA 1 neural processing unit (NPU) just like the Ryzen 7040 (code-named Phoenix). This means it is essentially a rebranded version of the same chip, taking some time before the big upgrade of Strix Point, which is set to be launched in 2024.

The real novelty in Ryzen 8040 lies in the improved performance of the NPU chip. The NPU has seen an increase in performance from 10 TOPS (tera operations per second) to 16 TOPS. All Ryzen 8040 chips (except for the two lowest-end models) come with NPUs to accelerate AI tasks. This is where AMD emphasizes the selling point of Ryzen AI software, ready for application developers to utilize.

The Ryzen 8040 chip lineup includes a total of 9 models ranging from Ryzen 3 to Ryzen 9, with power levels categorized into HS (45W) and U (28W) designs. However, there is no HX (75W) model released yet, similar to the Ryzen 7000 series.

The highest-end chip introduced is the Ryzen 9 8945HS, featuring 8 cores/16 threads, a maximum boost clock of 5.2GHz, and a total cache of 24MB. Nevertheless, Tom’s Hardware highlights that some sub-models have reduced specs compared to their Ryzen 7000 counterparts with the same code. For example, the Ryzen 7 8840HS has a reduced TDP of 28W (equivalent to U models) compared to the original Ryzen 7 7840HS, which had a 45W TDP. AMD achieved this power reduction by lowering the clock speed to fit within the 28W power envelope.

TLDR: AMD has launched the Ryzen 8040 Mobile chip with improved NPU performance. This chip series is rebranded from Ryzen 7000, featuring Zen 4 CPUs, RDNA 3 GPU cores, and XDNA 1 NPU. The Ryzen 8040 lineup includes 9 models, ranging from Ryzen 3 to Ryzen 9, categorized into HS and U power designs. The highest-end model is the Ryzen 9 8945HS, reaching a maximum boost clock of 5.2GHz. However, some sub-models have reduced specs compared to their Ryzen 7000 counterparts.