ASRock is working on a variant of its DeskMini SFF desktop PC powered by an AMD Ryzen 4000G series "Renoir" desktop APU. We know this is a desktop "Renoir" since ASRock uses socket AM4 SFF boards based on the A300 or X300 platform, that the clock speeds are higher than mobile "Renoir" chips launched so far, and since the performance numbers for both the CPU- and graphics put out by HardwareLeaks (_rogame) are higher than those of the mobile Ryzen 7 4800HS. The X300 is a barebones platform, as all the connectivity on the platform is handled by the AM4 SoC. AMD is expected to debut desktop Ryzen 4000G "Renoir" APUs within 2020.

Last week, reports of Intel's Gen12 Xe integrated graphics solution catching up with AMD's Radeon Vega 8 iGPU found in its latest Ryzen 4000U processors in higher-tier 3DMark tests sparked quite some intrigue. AMD's higher CPU core-count bailed the processor out in overall 3DMark 11 scores. Thanks to Thai PC enthusiast TUM_APISAK, we now have a face-off between the Core i7-1165G7 "Tiger Lake-U" processor (15 W), against AMD Ryzen 7 4800U (15 W), and the mainstream-segment Ryzen 7 4800HS (35 W), in 3DMark "Night Raid."

The "Night Raid" test is designed to evaluate iGPU performance, and takes advantage of DirectX 12. The Core i7-1165G7 falls behind both the Ryzen 7 4800U and the 4800HS in CPU score, owing to its lower CPU core count, despite higher IPC. The i7-1165G7 is a 4-core/8-thread chip featuring "Willow Cove" CPU cores, facing off against 8-core/16-thread "Zen 2" CPU setups on the two Ryzens. Things get interesting with graphics tests, where the Radeon Vega 8 solution aboard the 4800U scores 64.63 FPS in GT1, and 89.41 FPS in GT2; compared to just 27.79 FPS in GT1 and 32.05 FPS in GT2, by the Gen12 Xe iGPU in the i7-1165G7.

Much of the fanfare surrounding AMD's high-end Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 "Renoir" mobile processors were captured by the 14-inch ROG Zephyrus G14 notebook, and now ASUS got around to shipping its bigger (albeit lesser endowed) sibling, the Zephyrus G15 (variant: GA502IU). This gaming notebook features a 15.6-inch 144 Hz Full HD IPS display. Under the hood are an AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS (35 W) 8-core/16-thread processors, 16 GB of memory, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics, and a 1 TB NVMe SSD. Connectivity includes 802.11ax WLAN, Bluetooth 5, 1 GbE wired Ethernet, and a USB 3.2 gen 2 type-C with power-delivery compliance. It is now selling for USD $1,299.

At this year's CES, the ASUS Republic of Gamers announced the latest additions to the Zephyrus family of ultra-portable gaming laptops. Designed with portability in mind, these laptops are packing a lot of hardware in a body that is less than 20 mm thick. The G14 model is a 17.9 mm thin power-house capable of a lot more than its size would suggest. Packing AMD's latest Ryzen 7 4800HS processor, built on 7 nm "Zen 2" architecture with 8 cores and 16 threads, the G14 laptop is paired with NVIDIA's latest GeForce RTX 2060 GPU with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory.

The Ryzen processors used in Zephyrus laptops are special edition models, which are configured to run at lower 35 W TDP, instead of 45 W like the regular Ryzen 7 4800HS, with the same performance. This is due to the 6 months exclusive ASUS had on these processors, so they now able to use them in their designs to lower power consumption and improve battery life. This Zephyrus G14 laptop features two 14-inch display options to choose from - one 1080p IPS panel with 120 Hz refresh rate, Pantone validated FreeSync display and one 1440p IPS display that is capable of 60 Hz refreshing and also features Pantone validation with FreeSync technology.