ASUS Readies Zenbook 14 Model Combining Ryzen 4000 and GeForce MX350 Graphics

[btarunr]

ASUS is giving finishing touches to the launch of a new Zenbook 14 (UX434IQ) model with a combination of a Ryzen 4000 "Renoir" processor and NVIDIA's entry-level GeForce MX350 discrete graphics. Although never pictured and with no confirmation of whether it gets the swanky ScreenPad (a color touchscreen that works like the notebook's trackpad); the combine surfaced in a Futuremark database submission.

The Zenbook 14 (UX434IQ) combines an AMD Ryzen 7 4700U (8-core/8-thread) processor with NVIDIA GeForce MX350 discrete graphics, and more interestingly, 16 GB of LPDDR4x-4266 memory. The "Pascal" based MX350 graphics features 640 CUDA cores, and a 64-bit GDDR5 memory interface holding 2 GB of memory. It's marketed to offer a 2.5x performance uplift against an Intel Gen 9.5 iGPU, but we're not sure if it makes even a 1.5x uplift over the iGPU of the 4700U (448 "Vega" stream processors, 1600 MHz engine clock, plenty of memory bandwidth at its disposal thanks to LPDDR4x). The notebook also packs a decent Samsung PM981 1 TB NVMe SSD.



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[andry360]

I'm really curious to see if The Nvidia card is useful here!

 

[TheLostSwede]

I'm really curious to see if The Nvidia card is useful here!

Well, based on benchmark leaks, the MX250 is still as fast or faster than AMD's APU in most scenarios, but that was with DDR4, not LPDDR4x.
As such, the MX350 should be a fair bit faster, even with 64-bit memory, as it's supposed to offer GeForce GTX 1050 performance.
Here's really hoping for the MX450 though.

 

[mtcn77]

We are having daily tv ads of Acer ryzen 5 3500u laptops. So happy about that.

 

[king of swag187]

I'm really curious to see if The Nvidia card is useful here!

It's a downclocked 1050, so at worst its still marginally faster. But at how fast it is, I would have preferred a config without it

 

[midnightoil]

Well, based on benchmark leaks, the MX250 is still as fast or faster than AMD's APU in most scenarios, but that was with DDR4, not LPDDR4x.
As such, the MX350 should be a fair bit faster, even with 64-bit memory, as it's supposed to offer GeForce GTX 1050 performance.
Here's really hoping for the MX450 though.

I don't really see the point of having a relatively weak discrete GPU, paired with a very strong APU, in a thin and light laptop. It makes no sense.

Also, is that true re DDR4 / LPDDR4x ... the LPDDR4x, in this case, is 4266. DDR4 is only rarely 3200 in these laptops ... often quite a bit lower.

 

[newtekie1]

Well, based on benchmark leaks, the MX250 is still as fast or faster than AMD's APU in most scenarios, but that was with DDR4, not LPDDR4x.
As such, the MX350 should be a fair bit faster, even with 64-bit memory, as it's supposed to offer GeForce GTX 1050 performance.
Here's really hoping for the MX450 though.

It should be faster in pretty much all scenarios. Graphics wise, the 4700U is quite a ways behind even the GT1030. I'd guess the MX350 is around twice as fast as the Vega graphics in the 4700U.

 

[notb]

I don't really see the point of having a relatively weak discrete GPU, paired with a very strong APU, in a thin and light laptop. It makes no sense.

Actually it makes a lot of sense for the target client group.
Nvidia GPUs have much better support for acceleration and of course offer CUDA.
They also bring their own RAM, which is always a bonus - especially on laptops with 8GB RAM.

If you're just gaming, there's not much added value - both 4700U and MX350 will likely end up pretty bad. Performance will hugely depend on provided cooling.
But if you're buying a laptop for gaming, ZenBooks probably aren't your first choice anyway.

It's a downclocked 1050, so at worst its still marginally faster. But at how fast it is, I would have preferred a config without it

There will probably be an IGP-only variant just like with Intel CPUs (UX434FAC - Intel only, UX434FLC - Intel+Nvidia).
ASUS global website has some issues at the moment - maybe they're updating it for the new products. We should learn soon enough.

 

[xman2007]

Well, based on benchmark leaks, the MX250 is still as fast or faster than AMD's APU in most scenarios, but that was with DDR4, not LPDDR4x.
As such, the MX350 should be a fair bit faster, even with 64-bit memory, as it's supposed to offer GeForce GTX 1050 performance.
Here's really hoping for the MX450 though.

The mx350 is gddr5 the lpddr4 is system ram

 

[TheLostSwede]

The mx350 is gddr5 the lpddr4 is system ram

Sorry? I'm not sure what you're talking about. Please read my post again.

 

[mtcn77]

Sorry? I'm not sure what you're talking about. Please read my post again.

He erred on mx250, I honestly lost whether it is genuine chip, or a mistake.

 

[Ferrum Master]

ffs... I still read and think it is geforce 4... well it should be geforce 3... but still...

like the lack different names...

 

[Berfs1]

How many people buy an i9-9900K to pair with a GTX 1050? Next to none. And for good reason too.

 

[JPpage]

According to Tom's, the R7 4800u's iGPU is very close to the MX 250. I suppose an LPDDRX memory is enough to beat or leave the Vega iGPU safely on the same level as the MX250.
In my point of view, this MX 350 is useless, except for those who need CUDA (I win that most people don't even know what it is)

AMD Ryzen 4000 iGPU Almost Catches Nvidia's GeForce MX250

The GeForce MX250's days might be numbered.

www.tomshardware.com

[QUOTE = "newtekie1, postagem: 4247536, membro: 20670"]
Deve ser mais rápido em praticamente todos os cenários. Em termos de gráficos, o 4700U está bem atrás do GT1030. Eu acho que o MX350 é duas vezes mais rápido que os gráficos Vega na 4700U.
[/ CITAR]


The Vega 10 is on the same level as the 1030, as long as it is equipped with DDR4 3200.

 

[Cheeseball]

How many people buy an i9-9900K to pair with a GTX 1050? Next to none. And for good reason too.

That is a desktop chip and aimed at the enthusiast/gaming crowd. The 4700U is a mobile CPU for productivity ultraportables, not for gaming.

 

[R0H1T]

the MX350 should be a fair bit faster

Isn't it a rebrand of MX250, Pascal based, IIRC whilst the Mx450 should be Turing based. There's no way anything with 64bit wide bus would come anywhere near 1050 in performance, unless they've significantly bumped the specs & it has GDDR6 memory.

 

[IceShroom]

I'm really curious to see if The Nvidia card is useful here!

Looks like MX 350 with R7 4700U is the result of GPP. MX 350 in that chassis will not only hamper cooling but also power comsumption. A waste of BOM budget.

 

[londiste]

We are having daily tv ads of Acer ryzen 5 3500u laptops. So happy about that.

About what exactly? Retailers trying to get rid of old stock?

I don't really see the point of having a relatively weak discrete GPU, paired with a very strong APU, in a thin and light laptop. It makes no sense.

No contention on memory and power limits?

 

[wurschti]

MX350 graphics features 640 CUDA cores, and a 64-bit GDDR5

This should not even come close to the GTX1050. Maybe something inbetween the MX250 and the GTX1050. Even OC can't help, you can't just get double the bandwidth. It is still an awesome GPU for the form factor.

I'm curious about the pricing here. Being a slim form factor with a powerful CPU and a great GPU, I can't imagine going for less than 1k.

About what exactly? Retailers trying to get rid of old stock?

Well, AMD does not yet have a 4C/8T 4000-Series solution yet, so this is the best bet. Also depending on the price they do beat 8th gen i5s with iGPU on overall performance, especially on the graphics department.

 

[Hotobu]

Any word on price?

 

[notb]

How many people buy an i9-9900K to pair with a GTX 1050? Next to none. And for good reason too.

Could you explain this comment a bit? I'm not sure if it's in the right thread.

According to Tom's, the R7 4800u's iGPU is very close to the MX 250. I suppose an LPDDRX memory is enough to beat or leave the Vega iGPU safely on the same level as the MX250.
In my point of view, this MX 350 is useless, except for those who need CUDA (I win that most people don't even know what it is)

Not just CUDA. Acceleration makes a difference. This is not a focused gaming laptop. It's an slim all-rounder.
There is a group of consumers who benefit from an Nvidia chip in their laptops. ASUS makes a product that will attract them.
They don't necessarily have to know what CUDA is. It's enough that they, for example, study a STEM discipline and will use Tensorflow or Matlab.

Once again: a variant of this laptop without Nvidia will probably exist as well. At least ASUS does that with Intel-powered models.

Looks like MX 350 with R7 4700U is the result of GPP. MX 350 in that chassis will not only hamper cooling but also power comsumption. A waste of BOM budget.

No. We'll see many laptops with large Zen2 APUs and Nvidia GPU - for the exact same reason we see i7-1065G7 laptops with an Nvidia GPU. And for the exact same reason we see Nvidia GPU with so many ultrabooks definitely not made for gaming. It's a really big perk.

 

[IceShroom]

Nvidia GPU with so many ultrabooks definitely not made for gaming.

The same reason we dont need it in this laptop. It is not a gaming laptop.

 

[john_]

I don't understand the usage of such low end nvidia card here. Even if there is logic in that choice, why not use typical DDR4 memory that the customer can upgrade? For power efficiency?
I guess OEMs still configure AMD laptops under the influence of alcohol or something. Just a thought.

 

[Frick]

I don't understand the usage of such low end nvidia card here. Even if there is logic in that choice, why not use typical DDR4 memory that the customer can upgrade? For power efficiency?
I guess OEMs still configure AMD laptops under the influence of alcohol or something. Just a thought.

Cheaper/lower power than a GTX whilst faster than the IGP.

I'd definitely be into this if the price is right.

 

[Berfs1]

That is a desktop chip and aimed at the enthusiast/gaming crowd. The 4700U is a mobile CPU for productivity ultraportables, not for gaming.

Ok, allow me to correct myself, how many people would buy an i9-9980HK laptop with a MX350? There is absolutely no point in having a weak dGPU when the iGPU performs its job more than perfectly. UHD 630 is really good for web browsing and small stuff.

Could you explain this comment a bit? I'm not sure if it's in the right thread.

Sure, almost no one buys a top level performance processor only to pair with a sub-optimal GPU. There are very few people who buy a HP processor and a simple video card just for graphics, however this is laptops, and that simple isn't the case. The market for a high performance laptop with a dedicated weak GPU is very, very small. Therefore, it makes perfect sense just to use the iGPU. The Ryzen processor already has an inbuilt GPU, why waste money, circuit board area, power and thermals for an extra GPU that is almost pointless? Either pair the Ryzen processor with a high performance GPU or just run it with its own GPU, no point in going with a GPU that isn't significantly faster than the iGPU.

This is not a focused gaming laptop.

So why purchase an 8c8t processor for content creation? We are talking about the R7-4700U not the R7-4800U, which is an 8c16t processor. The fact that the 4700U doesn't have SMT means it is automatically oriented towards gamers. If this were a 4800U laptop, then sure it would make sense.