AMD announces Ryzen 8040 processors and artificial intelligence will enter showrooms

AMD is preparing to release Ryzen 8040 processors that will be used in upcoming laptops. We still have to wait a little longer for the premiere of the equipment, but the manufacturer has kept some secrets about the capabilities of the equipment.

AMD is increasingly focusing on supporting artificial intelligence. The premiere of AMD Ryzen 7040 processors, the first x86 processors with NPU acceleration, is behind us. However, the manufacturer’s plans do not end there, because more powerful units are planned.

AMD announces Ryzen 8040 processors

Ryzen 8040 (Hawk Point) processors are the successors to the Ryzen 7040 (Phoenix) models. In theory, we won’t see many changes. The manufacturer used Zen 4 cores, an integrated graphics system based on the RDNA 3 architecture and an artificial intelligence accelerator based on the AMD XDNA architecture.

AMD Ryzen 7040 “Phoenix” (left) and Ryzen 8040 “Hawk Point” (right) silicon core architecture comparison

There are plans for a dozen or so different models. The lower-voltage Ryzen 8040U versions will be used in compact laptops, and the Ryzen 8040HS and 8045HS versions will be suitable for gaming laptops and content creation workstations.

Better performance in artificial intelligence

We’ll have to wait until 2024 for the premiere of laptops with Ryzen 8040 processors, but the manufacturer is already announcing a significant performance improvement in AI-related applications (which may indicate changes in the NPU chip itself).

The Ryzen 7 8840HS model is expected to deliver approximately a 40% performance increase over the Ryzen 9 7940HS model when supporting Generative AI.

In other applications, processors are expected to perform better than competitors. For example, a Ryzen 9 8940H with Radeon 780M graphics should be better than a Core i9-13900H model with Iris Xe graphics. The processor offers slightly better performance in multi-threaded applications and content creation, and also provides a more efficient integrated graphics system.

It’s worth noting that AMD does not compare the old Ryzen 7040 systems with the new Ryzen 8040 systems in benchmark applications, which may indicate a slight increase in performance (we will find out after the hardware premiere).

More processors are on the way

But this is not the end of the revelation! AMD announces that it is planning more efficient Ryzen models from the Strix Point generation.

The systems are scheduled to use an accelerator based on the XDNA 2 architecture, which is expected to deliver a three-fold performance increase in AI applications. The units are expected to be shipped to manufacturers next year. When will the devices premiere? This is not yet known.

AMD is focusing on artificial intelligence

It’s no secret that AMD is increasingly focusing on artificial intelligence. This is evident through the new Ryzen 7040 Phoenix and Ryzen 8040 Hawk Point processors (and upcoming Strix Point models), but also through the Ryzen AI development kit, so that the capabilities of the technology can be used in more applications.

AMD cooperates with the world’s largest manufacturers, so the benefits of using the accelerator will be obvious, among others: in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Lightroom or Black Magic DaVinci.

Source: AMD