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Advanced micro-systems (NASDAQ: AMD) made a splash in the laptop market last year with its Ryzen 4000 Mobile line of processors. The chips were built on the company’s Zen 2 architecture and Taiwan Semiconductor7nm manufacturing process, delivering outstanding performance and effectively competing with the chip giant’s products Intel (NASDAQ: INTC).
Once a significant number of laptops were available, AMD’s market share jumped. AMD’s chips accounted for 20.2% of laptops sold in the third quarter of 2020, according to Mercury Research, as reported by Tom’s Hardware, up from 14.7% for the same period in 2019.
At CES 2021 tech show on Tuesday, AMD announced the next iteration of its Ryzen laptop processors. The Ryzen 5000 Mobile series uses the company’s latest Zen 3 architecture, the same architecture used for AMD’s newer desktop chips. The new chips use the same 7nm manufacturing process as their predecessors, so the performance leap will likely be smaller this time around.
Image source: AMD.
Double digit improvements
AMD’s Ryzen 5000 Mobile family includes 13 processors. Interestingly, the two lower-end chips are built on AMD’s older Zen 2 architecture, which is likely to keep costs down. The lowest-end Zen 3 processor is the 6-core, 12-thread Ryzen 5 5600U, while the top-tier processor is the 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 9 5980HX.
Processors with the designation HX are intended for gamers and creators. AMD claims that the Ryzen 9 5980HX processor offers up to 23% better single-threaded performance and up to 17% better multithreaded performance than the latest generation Ryzen 9 4900H processor.
Below the HX series in terms of performance is the H series, with these processors using a little less power and having slower clock speeds. The HS series further reduces power consumption and the U series targets laptops where efficiency and battery life are just as important as raw performance.
AMD is making big promises for these U-series chips. The company says the Ryzen 5800U, an 8-core chip that should find its way into some high-end ultra-notebooks, delivers 16% better single-thread performance. and 14% better multi-threaded performance than the latest generation Ryzen 7 4800U. . Battery life should be solid as well, with up to 17.5 hours of battery life in general use and up to 21 hours of movie playback.
Upcoming devices
AMD expects the first Ryzen 5000 Mobile laptops to be available in the first quarter, with more than 150 laptops slated to launch in 2021 with the new chips.
Unlike the desktop processor market where AMD can sell its chips to those who build their own PCs, the laptop market is forcing AMD to convince original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to design systems around its chips. While AMD products have caught up to Intel in performance, Intel chips still power around 80% of laptops sold. For consumers who don’t follow the industry and know little about technology, buying an Intel laptop is the less resistant route.
Intel has unveiled its own new laptop processors in recent days. Intel’s Tiger Lake-H series won’t compete with AMD’s best. Instead, processors will power devices that aim to deliver decent gaming performance as well as good battery life. Intel’s more powerful Tiger Lake laptop processors are not yet available.
AMD is expected to continue to gain market share this year, but its gain depends on the extent to which OEMs adopt its products. Intel has no problem selling laptop chips in the midst of the pandemic – volumes were up 25% year-over-year for the company in the third quarter. AMD will have to overcome Intel’s inertia in the laptop market, which will be easier said than done.
The market share gains will not necessarily translate into a higher share price for AMD. AMD shares are historically expensive after a strong performance in 2020, with stocks trading well over 100 times earnings. While the AMD company will likely do well this year, AMD stock is another story.
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