AMD announced on Wednesday (07) a new way to name its processors for notebooks. From 2023, all components of the “Athlon” and “Ryzen” families will have more intuitive numbers that “really mean something”according to the manufacturer, to help users choose the platform with the ideal performance for their tasks.
Using a hypothetical processor — or not — called the “AMD Ryzen 5 7640U”, the manufacturer dissects the “7640U” nomenclature, where each digit represents a characteristic. “If you don’t understand a lot about the processor, a higher number simply means better CPU performance,” says the company. Check the details below.
The first digit will represent the year the processor was released. The number “7” will indicate that the model was launched in 2023, “8” in 2024, “9” in 2025, and so on. We therefore know that the Ryzen 5 7640U would be released in 2023.
Then we have the second digit, which will represent the processor segment — an indicator that consumers are already used to. The Ryzen 5 7640U has the digit “6”, reiterating that it is part of the “Ryzen 5” family. Altogether we have:
- x1xx: Athlon Silver
- x2xx: Athlon Gold
- x3xx: Ryzen 3
- x4xx: Ryzen 3
- x5xx: Ryzen 5
- x6xx: Ryzen 5
- x7xx: Ryzen 7
- x8xx: Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 9
- x9xx: Ryzen 9
The third digit is one of the most important, being responsible for inform the architecture used in the processormaking it clear that the Ryzen 5 7640U is based on Zen “4”.
The fourth digit complements the third and distinguishes the architecture version. AMD often improves “Zen” before releasing a new generation, as it happened with Zen 3 and Zen 3+ and will also happen with Zen 4 and Zen 4c. In this case, we know that the Ryzen 5 7640U is based on Zen 4, but a hypothetical Ryzen 5 7645U would be based on Zen 4c.
The last digit is the same as always: letters that point to the type of device the chip is designed for. The form factor directly influences the power at which the hardware can work — thicker notebooks are better able to cool a high-power processor, while an ultralight one demands reduced consumption on the CPU.
There are five power classes within the notebook segment:
- HX: High-performance notebooks and workstations (55W+ TDP)
- HS: lightweight high-performance notebooks (35W+ TDP)
- U: ultra-thin notebooks (TDP from 15 to 28W)
- C: Chromebooks (15 to 28W TDP)
- e: low-power fanless notebooks (9W TDP)
This makes it easier to identify part of a processor’s specifications. Returning to the example of the “7640U”, we can see that it is a Ryzen 5 launched in 2023 with Zen 4 architecture and power adjusted for ultra-thin notebooks.
Separation will also make distinguishing the lines simplified. “Mendocino” APUs, for example, will always be identified by the “7x2x” nomenclature — like the AMD Ryzen 3 7320U, which was recently leaked in a benchmark test.
AMD’s upcoming mobile processors are due to be unveiled at CES 2023, and will bring the Zen 4 architecture to more efficient notebooks thanks to its 5nm manufacturing process. In the meantime, the public will soon be able to get a taste of the new generation with the release of the Ryzen 7000 on September 27th.
