AMD has been a dominant force in the processor industry for quite some time now, and with the launch of their Ryzen 9 7940HS processor, they have once again proven their prowess in this field. The Ryzen 9 7940HS is a fast high-end laptop processor of the Phoenix series that boasts a host of advanced features and specifications. This article will delve into the specifics of this processor, including its architecture, clock speed, cache, and more.
Processor Architecture
The Ryzen 9 7940HS is an octa-core processor that is based on the Zen 4 architecture. This means that the processor has 8 cores that can support hyperthreading, enabling it to handle up to 16 threads. The processor's architecture is a significant improvement over its predecessor, the Ryzen 9 6980HX, which was based on the Zen 3 architecture. The Zen 4 architecture is designed to be faster and more efficient, and this is evident in the Ryzen 9 7940HS's performance.
Clock Speed
The Ryzen 9 7940HS has a base clock speed of 4 GHz, which can be boosted to up to 5.2 GHz for single-core operations. This makes the processor incredibly fast and capable of handling even the most demanding tasks with ease. Its clock speed is higher than that of the Ryzen 9 6980HX, which had a maximum clock speed of 4.9 GHz, making it one of the fastest processors on the market.
Cache
The Ryzen 9 7940HS includes 8 MB of L2 cache and 16 MB of L3 cache. This large cache size ensures that the processor can quickly access frequently used data, reducing the time it takes to complete tasks. The cache size is similar to that of the Ryzen 9 6980HX, making the Ryzen 9 7940HS a slightly faster processor overall.
Power Consumption
The Ryzen 9 7940HS has a TDP of between 35 and 45 watts, which is lower than the TDP of the Ryzen 9 6980HX. This makes the processor more energy-efficient and better suited for use in laptops and other portable devices. The lower TDP does not affect the processor's performance, as it is still one of the fastest processors on the market.
Graphics Card
The Ryzen 9 7940HS includes a modern and fast RDNA 3 graphics card called the Radeon 780M. The Radeon 780M has 12 CUs and a clock speed of up to 2.8 GHz, making it an excellent graphics card for gaming and other graphics-intensive applications. The graphics card is significantly better than that of the Ryzen 9 6980HX, making the Ryzen 9 7940HS an even more powerful processor overall.
Memory Controller
The Ryzen 9 7940HS includes a dual-channel DDR5-5600/LPDDR5x-7500 memory controller with ECC support. This memory controller is faster and more efficient than the memory controller found in the Ryzen 9 6980HX, making the Ryzen 9 7940HS an even faster and more capable processor.
Connectivity Features
The Ryzen 9 7940HS includes 20 PCIe 4.0 lanes, making it possible to connect multiple GPUs and SSDs. It also includes two USB 4 (40 Gbps) ports, which are faster than USB 3.0 and USB 3.1. These connectivity features are essential for gamers, content creators, and other power users who require fast and reliable data transfer.
Manufacturing Technology
The Ryzen 9 7940HS is manufactured using TSMC's modern 4nm process, making it one of the most advanced processors in the market. The smaller manufacturing process means that the transistors are packed more densely, allowing for higher performance and lower power consumption. The 4nm process also enables AMD to include more transistors on the chip, which is evident in the chip's 178mm2 die size.
One of the notable features of the Ryzen 9 7940HS is its RDNA 3 graphics card or iGPU. The Radeon 780M has 12 compute units and can clock up to 2.8 GHz. RDNA 3 is the latest graphics architecture from AMD and promises significant improvements in performance and power efficiency over the previous generation RDNA 2. With the Radeon 780M, the Ryzen 9 7940HS can handle demanding graphics workloads without the need for an external graphics card. The integrated graphics also make the processor suitable for slim and lightweight laptops where space for a dedicated GPU is limited.
Apart from the Radeon 780M, the Ryzen 9 7940HS also includes a video engine that supports AV1 de- and encoding. AV1 is a video compression standard that promises higher quality video at lower bitrates compared to previous codecs like H.264 and H.265. With AV1 support, the Ryzen 9 7940HS can handle high-resolution video playback and streaming without the need for additional software or hardware.
Another significant addition to the Ryzen 9 7940HS is the Xilinx FPGA based XDNA AI accelerator. The XDNA AI accelerator or Ryzen AI is designed to handle machine learning workloads and promises to be faster than the AI engine in the Apple M2 SOC. With Ryzen AI, the processor can perform tasks like image and speech recognition, natural language processing, and recommendation systems, among others. The inclusion of Ryzen AI makes the Ryzen 9 7940HS suitable for professionals who need to run AI workloads on their laptops.
Memory support is also a crucial aspect of any processor, and the Ryzen 9 7940HS does not disappoint. The processor includes a dual-channel DDR5-5600 / LPDDR5x-7500 memory controller with ECC support. DDR5 is the latest memory standard and promises higher speeds and lower power consumption compared to DDR4. The LPDDR5x is a low-power variant of DDR5 and is suitable for mobile devices like laptops. ECC or Error-Correcting Code memory is a type of memory that can detect and correct errors that occur during data transmission. With ECC support, the Ryzen 9 7940HS can provide reliable and accurate performance, making it suitable for professionals who need to work on critical tasks like data analysis and financial modeling.
Connectivity is another area where the Ryzen 9 7940HS excels. The processor includes 20 PCIe 4.0 lanes, which can be used to connect high-speed storage devices like NVMe SSDs and external GPUs. The processor also supports two USB 4 (40 Gbps) ports, which can be used to connect high-speed peripherals like external hard drives and displays. The USB 4 ports are backward compatible with USB 3.2 and USB 2.0 devices, ensuring compatibility with older peripherals.
In conclusion, the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS is a fast high-end laptop processor of the Phoenix series. It offers 8 cores based on the Zen 4 architecture that supports hyperthreading, making it suitable for demanding workloads like video editing, 3D rendering, and gaming.
