CES: New mobile CPUs with improved AI capability

AMD’s Ryzen 8040 series, also known as “Hawk Point”, is based on the Zen 4 architecture and represents a major advance in AMD’s mobile processor offering. These processors, which are expected to launch on January 31, 2024, are designed as an update to the previous Phoenix 7040 series and do not represent a complete overhaul. The Ryzen 8040 series comprises nine SKUs, ranging from 8C/16T to an entry-level model with 4C/8T. These chips are manufactured by TSMC using the 4 nm process. A special feature of this series is the integration of the Ryzen AI NPU, developed by Xilinx, in seven of the nine SKUs, indicating a strong focus on AI capabilities.

AMD promises up to 1.4x improvement in AI performance compared to the previous Ryzen 7040 series, using technologies such as PyTorch in Eager mode, ONNX Runtime and the ONNX Performance Tool quantized to INT8. The frequency of the NPU has been increased by 60% in the 8040 series, which promises up to 16 TOPS performance from the NPU. In addition, the series includes architectural improvements such as firmware updates, bug fixes and minor optimizations.

This has led to significant improvements in AI-related functionality that can be seen in software applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Lightroom, After Effects and Black Magic DaVinci Resolve. These applications benefit from features such as automatic equalization, DNN-based deinterlacing and AI-driven speech isolation.

As such, the Ryzen 8040 series represents AMD’s ongoing commitment to integrating powerful AI capabilities directly into their mobile processor line, improving both performance and functionality across a range of applications. For more, check out the slides above, which can also provide an initial preview of the new CPUs’ capabilities.