AMD Launches Ryzen 9 7940HX in ASUS Laptops, Balancing Power and Efficiency

AMD is already shipping its low-clocked Ryzen 9 7940HX and Ryzen 9 7840HX "Dragon Range" CPUs for high-end gaming laptops.

AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX ‘Dragon Range’ 16-Core 5.2 GHz CPU Found in ASUS TUF Gaming A16 Laptop

Last year, it was reported that AMD was developing lower-clocked SKUs for their Dragon Range-HX CPU family. These laptop CPUs retain the high-end Zen 4 core architecture and support up to 16 cores, although with a slightly lower clock frequency. The goal is to use all of the Dragon Range CPU dies for gaming laptops while providing slightly more economical options.

Starting with the specifications, ASUS has added a new configuration of its TUF Gaming A16 laptop, which now has the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX processor. This CPU still has 16 cores and 32 threads, as well as 64 MB of L3 cache, but the boost clock has been increased to 5.2 GHz. This represents a -200 MHz clock speed difference compared to the Ryzen 9 7945HX, which has been serving the laptop HX category.

AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX Offers Efficient Performance, Competes with Intel's Raptor Lake-HX CPUs

A -200 MHz clock speed difference isn't significant, and while the power/thermal restrictions stay unchanged, we should expect slightly reduced costs from Ryzen 9 7940HX CPU laptops compared to 7945HX models. This is ideal for people who require fast 16-cores in a portable machine, as per WCCFTech.

The other alternative is to acquire Intel's 13th or 14th generation Raptor Lake-HX CPUs, which run hotter and consume more power. AMD's Zen 4 architecture has a proven track record of efficiency leadership, and we may expect the same from the new entrants.

The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX 16-core and Ryzen 9 7840HX 12-core processors are likely to be available in further combinations in the future. In AMD's varied selection of high-performance laptop CPUs, the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D remains the finest option for the fastest gaming performance. Given the 3D V-Cache action we've seen on the AM5 and AM4 platforms, we should expect more 3D V-Cache versions on the laptop side later this year.

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