AMD introducing Ryzen 8040 series with increased AI performance
Today, as part of the “Advance AI” event, AMD is revealing the first SKUs as part of the Ryzen 8040 series.
AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 8040 lineup will feature a total of 9 different SKUs, comprising five 8040HS models and four 8040U parts. Referred to as Hawk Point and derived from Phoenix, these new series will once again include the Zen4 CPU and RDNA3 GPU architectures. Notably, there is an update to the Ryzen AI core, referred to as NPU (Neural Processing Unit).
The flagship SKU within the Hawk Point series is named Ryzen 9 8945HS, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. This part boasts a boost clock of up to 5.2 GHz, aligning with its Phoenix predecessor. The configurable TDP for this model ranges from 35W to 54W. Integrated within the processor is the Radeon 780M RDNA3 graphics with 12 Compute Units. Slightly stepping down with a 100 MHz lower boost clock is the Ryzen 7 8845HS, targeting the same TDP range.
AMD is actually preparing three subseries within the Hawk Point lineup. The primary difference between the xx45HS and xx40HS parts lies in the latter’s lower configurable TDP, ranging from 20 to 30W. As an example, the Ryzen 7 8840HS, which shares identical boost clock specifications with the 8845HS with target lower TDPs. There should also be changes to the base clocks and possibly to GPU clocks as well, but as you can see, the official chart lacks these details.
Ryzen 8040 series specifications, Source: AMD
AMD Ryzen 8040 TDP ranges:
- Ryzen 8x45HS: 35-54W
- Ryzen 8x40HS: 20-30W
- Ryzen 8x40U: 15-30W
Expanding the product range, AMD is set to introduce the Ryzen 5 8645HS and 8640HS, both featuring 6 cores and 12 threads, with boost clocks of 5.0 GHz and 4.9 GHz, respectively. These processors come equipped with Radeon 760M integrated graphics and will cater to different TDP ranges, specifically 35-54W for the xx45HS and 20-30W for the xx40HS.
Within the Ryzen 8040U lineup, designed to operate within a TDP range of 15 to 30W, options will be available in 8-core, 6-core, and 4-core configurations. Noteworthy is that the Ryzen 5 8540U and 8440U do not incorporate the XDNA NPU, indicating they are based on the refreshed Phoenix2 die, which excludes this type of processing unit.
Ryzen 8040 series specifications, Source: AMD
AMD confirmed that Ryzen 8040 XDNA NPU is to offer a boost in performance compared to the 7040 series, increasing from 10 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second) to 16 TOPS. This translates to a 40% increase in generative AI workloads, such as those found in Meta’s Llama2 or Vision Models.
The launch of the Ryzen 8040 series has been confirmed by AMD for the first quarter of 2024, with the exact date yet to be specified. Notably, the series is already shipping to partners, as previously confirmed by leaked information.
Source: AMD
