AMD Ryzen powered laptops offer some of the best value for performance anyone can get. But choosing the right one can become difficult, especially with so many options available on the market. It is difficult to determine whether a particular laptop is suitable for gaming, video editing, or general usage just by looking at its specifications.
We feel that this handy buying guide about AMD Ryzen Powered laptops will help you make the right decision for your hard-earned money. We’ve detailed the available AMD Ryzen laptop CPU models and the also specialized tech they use to deliver faster performance in this buying guide.
The important thing to note about AMD Ryzen laptop processors is that a lot of them are not just CPUs but instead APUs, short for Accelerated Processing Unit. The APU consists of both the CPU cores and the graphics chip onto a single die.
Most AMD Ryzen powered laptops nowadays are available in 4-core, 6-core, or an 8-core configuration. At present, two AMD Ryzen series laptop CPUs are available, one from the 5000 series another one from the 6000 series. The main difference between these two is that the former is based on the 7nm process while the latter is based on the 6nm node.
The difference in the manufacturing process also grants them different capabilities. For general purposes, the Ryzen 6000 series is relatively faster and more efficient than the Ryzen 5000 laptop processors. However, the latter is more widely available and available at a better price point.
Remember I told you that AMD processors are APUs. Well, as it turns out, the RDNA 2 graphics chip on the Ryzen 6000 series processors is easily capable of running modern games quite well. The Radeon graphics chip in the Ryzen 5000 series APUs is also pretty good, but as you can imagine, not as performance-oriented as the newer series.
Another important term you need to remember while shopping for such laptops is “AMD Advantage.” Whenever a laptop has a Ryzen 5000 series or newer processor paired with a Radeon 6000 series GPU, the result is faster performance in all games thanks to AMD’s Smart Access Memory feature.
Now that you know all about the AMD Ryzen processors, let’s dive in deep into different processor types and help you find the right one.
In the market, you can find three main 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 5000 series processors namely - 5600U, 5600HS, and 5600H. As mentioned, all these processors have 6-cores and they also have 12-threads. In terms of specifics, the 5600U has a base TDP of 15W, the 5600HS has a base TDP of 35W, and the 5600H has a base TDP of 45W. All three processors also feature 7-core AMD Radeon Graphics. In terms of general power metrics, you can pretty easily see that the 5600U is at the bottom, the 5600H is at the top and the 5600HS is somewhere in the middle.
Meanwhile, you can also find three Ryzen 5 6000 series APUs - 6600U, 6600HS, and 6600H. The Ryzen 5 6600U has a configurable base TDP of 15-28W, the 6600HS has a default TDP of 35W. Meanwhile, the higher end the 6600H has a base TDP of 45W. Being an APU, the Ryzen 5 6000 series chips also feature a Radeon 660M integrated GPU.
Moreover, these Ryzen 5 6000 series processors also have built-in support for DDR5 and LPDDR5 RAM. Which is generally faster than the DDR4 you’ll find on most laptops these days.
For most modern-day applications like MS Office, Google Chrome, Teams, Docs, etc, a 6-core processor is pretty sufficient. Pair such a processor with a discreet GPU from AMD or Nvidia and you can also play demanding games like AC Valhalla, Metro Exodus, and more on it at a pretty smooth frame rate.
The AMD Ryzen processor is also pretty capable in terms of productivity. If your workflow primarily involves editing 1080p footage then an AMD Ryzen 6-core processor is pretty good for you.
Most gaming laptops in this range offer either an Nvidia RTX 3050 or a 3060 paired with the AMD Ryzen 5 5000 series processor. On some budget gaming laptops, you can also find AMD Radeon RX 5500M as the discreet GPU and it performs better than the Nvidia GTX 1650. Our suggestion would be to go with the Nvidia RTX 3050 if you want a decently specced gaming laptop, as such a laptop will be relatively affordable and its 4GB GDDR6 VRAM is perfect for playing eSports titles and modern games at 1080p in low-medium settings but not for much else.
For a mid-range gaming laptop, our suggestion would be to go with the Nvidia RTX 3060, preferably due to its 6GB GDDR6 VRAM, which can run modern games like AC: Valhalla at high graphics settings without losing performance.
Make sure that the laptop has at least 8GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD storage, and a 1080p display with 300nits of brightness and 15.6-inch screen real estate.
AMD Ryzen 8-Core Laptops
AMD offers two series of 8-core processors - Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9. These processors are further categorized based on whether they belong to the AMD Ryzen 5000 series or 6000 series.
The Ryzen 7 5000 series processors mainly include three chips - 5800U, 5800H, and 5800HS. As the nomenclature suggests, the 5800U is the entry-level unit featuring 8-core, 16-threads, and a base TDP of 15W. The Ryzen 7 5800H is the top-spec processor in this class and has a default TDP of 45W. Meanwhile, the Ryzen 7 5800HS is a medium-spec unit with a default TDP of 35W.
Moving on, we have the Ryzen 9 5000 series processors, that have 8-core, 16-threads but offer a much higher boost clock. The Ryzen 9 5000 series include - 5900HS, 5900HX, 5980HS, and 5980HX.
Both the 5900HS and 5900HX offer a boost clock of up to 4.6GHz. But the former has a 3.0GHz of the base clock and 35W TDP compared to the 3.3GHz base frequency and 45W+ TDP of the latter. The Ryzen 9 5980HS and 5980HX also come in similar configurations
All these APUs come with AMD Radeon Graphics that can run many games at low-medium settings in 1080p resolution. However, if you can pair the processor with a discreet Nvidia GPU then you can take advantage of the high-performance cores and play games at a high frame rate with good graphics.
The AMD Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 powered laptops are usually paired with one of these GPUs - Nvidia RTX 3060, 3070, 3080, AMD Radeon RX 6600M, and 6800M.
As mentioned earlier, the AMD Advantage laptops will offer extra performance in all games thanks to the patented Smart Access Memory tech. Which is also an added feature.
Most high-end laptops will feature either an Nvidia RTX 3070, 3080, or an AMD Radeon RX 6800M paired with a Ryzen 9 5000 series processor. These machines are geared for ultra-high performance 1440p gaming and live streaming thanks to a powerful CPU and GPU combination.
Meanwhile, an Nvidia RTX 3060 or an AMD Radeon RX 6600M lie in the premium-budget segment. These GPUs are usually paired with either a Ryzen 7 or a Ryzen 9. Such laptops are built for 1080p gaming and streaming.
In addition to gaming, these laptops also offer great performance during 4k video editing, photo editing, and other productivity-related tasks.
Such laptops come with either 16GB or 32GB RAM, at least 1TB SSD, a QHD or FHD display along with a plethora of I/O ports for seamless connectivity.
It can be hard to digest so much technical jargon so here’s a quick rundown. Budget buyers looking for an AMD Ryzen powered laptop should opt for the AMD Ryzen 5 5500U. Such a laptop will probably not feature a dedicated GPU.
Moving up the ladder you’ll find the Ryzen 5 5600H and 5600HS processors. They’re usually paired with an RTX 3050, 3060, a GTX 1650, and in some cases a Radeon RX 5500M. For a budget gaming machine, we’d advise you to go with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600H/5600HS and a Radeon RX 5500M combo. For a medium spec machine, going with the RTX 3050 is a good option and if you’re willing to future proof your laptop then opting for an Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU would be the best choice.
When it comes to choosing high-end machines, you have two options from AMD - a Ryzen 7 and a Ryzen 9. Both offer 8-core, 16-threads but the Ryzen 9 is relatively powerful. Usually, an AMD Ryzen 7 will be paired with an RTX 3060, a 3070, a 3080, or an AMD Radeon RX 6600M.
On the other hand, you’ll find a Ryzen 9 processor paired with an RTX 3070, a 3080, an AMD Radeon RX 6600M, and 6800M. These laptops allow you to play games, create content and do pretty much anything you’d like to without breaking a sweat.
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