With Windows 11 23H2 setting the stage for increased prevalence of AI in client PC use cases, the new hardware battleground between AMD and its rivals Intel, Apple, and Qualcomm, will be in equipping their mobile processors with sufficient AI acceleration performance. AMD already introduced accelerated AI with the current "Phoenix" processor that debuts Ryzen AI, and its Xilinx XDNA hardware backend that provides a performance of up to 16 TOPS. This will see a 2-3 fold increase with the company's 2024-25 mobile processor lineup, according to a roadmap leak by "Moore's Law is Dead."

At the very top of the pile, in a product segment called "ultimate compute," which consists of large gaming notebooks, mobile workstations, and desktop-replacements; the company's current Ryzen 7045 "Dragon Range" processor will continue throughout 2024. Essentially a non-socketed version of the desktop "Raphael" MCM, "Dragon Range" features up to two 5 nm "Zen 4" CCDs for up to 16 cores, and a 6 nm cIOD. This processor lacks any form of AI acceleration. In 2025, the processor will be succeeded with "Fire Range," a similar non-socketed, mobile-friendly MCM that's derived from "Granite Ridge," with up to two 4 nm "Zen 5" CCDs for up to 16 cores; and the 6 nm cIOD. What's interesting to note here, is that the quasi-roadmap makes no mention of AI acceleration for "Fire Range," which means "Granite Ridge" could miss out on Ryzen AI acceleration from the processor. Modern discrete GPUs from both NVIDIA and AMD support AI accelerators, so this must have been AMD's consideration to exclude an XDNA-based Ryzen AI accelerator on "Fire Range" and "Granite Ridge."

When you buy a notebook powered by a Ryzen 7000 series mobile processor, you're either getting a cutting-edge chip powered by the company's latest "Zen 4" CPU cores, or one that has been rebadged from the company's previous-gen Ryzen 6000 "Zen 3+" or even Ryzen 5000 "Zen 3" (DDR4) processor series. The question on the tech buyer's mind will be "how to I spot a Ryzen 7000 series processor-powered notebook that actually gives me "Zen 4" CPU cores?"

AMD attempted to answer this with an exclusive new case badge for Ryzen 7000 series processors with "Zen 4" CPU cores. This new case badge looks not much different from the AMD Expo logo, in that the AMD Ryzen main branding is set against an orange backdrop. This bit is surrounded by a silver-metallic frame, with the 5/7/9 brand extension on its corner, along with "7000 series" marked. This case badge is only to be included with a Ryzen 7040 series "Phoenix" or Ryzen 7045 series "Dragon Range" processor present, and cannot be used with Ryzen 7035 series "Rembrandt Refresh" or Ryzen 7030 series "Barcelo Refresh," or Ryzen 7020 series "Mendocino."

AMD today launched the Ryzen 7020 and Athlon 7020 lines of entry-level mobile processors that pack a unique combination of AMD processor, graphics, and I/O technologies that promise a superior experience and battery-life in the entry-level notebook segment that's usually forsaken by processor manufacturers. Based on the 6 nm "Mendocino" monolithic silicon, these SoC pack a 4-core/8-thread CPU based on an enhanced version of the "Zen 2" microarchitecture; an entry-level iGPU based on the latest RDNA2 graphics architecture, with modern display I/O and media-acceleration features; and a modern I/O that includes support for LPDDR5 memory. Processors in the series offer TDP in the range of 8 to 15 W, making them "U-segment" chips but in "H-segment" form-factors. AMD is promising battery-life of up to 12 hours on the full charge.

The 6 nm "Mendocino" silicon packs a single "Zen 2" CCX with four CPU cores, each with 512 KB of dedicated L2 cache, and 4 MB of shared L3 cache. Infinity Fabric connects it with the iGPU, which AMD markets as Radeon 610M. This iGPU packs two RDNA2 compute units (128 stream processors). AMD feels this is enough for everyday computing, web-browsing, and online videos. Its display engine is contemporary, with support for modern notebook display types; while the media engine offers hardware-accelerated decode for H.265 (HEVC), H.264, and AV1, among several older video formats. There are several platform features that Windows 11 can take advantage of, including modern standby, wake-on-voice, including Cortana and Alexa support; Microsoft Ink, and Microsoft Modern Device power-management. Its hardware security features include Pluton, and secure bio channel, making the chips fully capable of running Windows 11 in a commercial environment.

One of AMD's big announcements this fall has been its entry-level "Mendocino" Ryzen 3 mobile processor, which enables the company to compete with Intel's latest-generation Pentium Gold-powered notebooks by combining older-generation IP with the latest I/O and fabrication node. The chip has possibly surfaced on the UserBenchmark database, as the Ryzen 3 7320U processor.

Built on the TSMC N6 (6 nm) silicon fabrication process, the "Mendocino" chip features a 4-core/8-thread CPU based on the older "Zen 2" microarchitecture. This CPU is a single CCX with four "Zen 2" cores sharing a 4 MB L3 cache. It features an iGPU based on the latest RDNA2 graphics architecture, but with just two compute units (128 stream processors). The chip also features a single-channel DDR5 memory interface, and a PCI-Express Gen 3 interface with four PCIe 3.0 general-purpose lanes, besides some USB and display outputs.