If you’re expecting significant enhancements from AMD’s new Ryzen 8040HX laptop processors, you might want to temper your expectations. The recent launch of the Ryzen 8040HX series indicates that the evolution from the previous Ryzen 7045HX lineup, often referred to as “Dragon Range,” is relatively minor. This lack of substantial updates is disappointing, particularly given the year-and-a-half gap between generations. For instance, the Ryzen 9 8945HX, similar to its predecessor the 7945HX, features 16 performance cores built upon the Zen 4 architecture.
It maintains an 80 MB cache and offers a thermal design power (TDP) that ranges from 55 to 75 watts. While this architecture remains reliable and efficient, it might not rank as the latest technology by 2025. The Ryzen 9 8945HX’s specifications suggest it’s optimized for high-performance laptops rather than thin, battery-saving devices. Although strong enough for gaming and demanding tasks, it primarily represents a refresh rather than a groundbreaking advancement.
In terms of graphics, the integrated Radeon 610M remains unchanged. While this GPU may struggle with modern gaming demands on its own, it’s typically paired with dedicated graphics in AMD’s HX-series systems, mitigating concerns about its performance. Additionally, the clock speeds stay consistent, with a base clock at 2.5GHz and a maximum boost of 5.4GHz. The new lineup includes four models under the Ryzen 8040HX series.
Notably, the Ryzen 9 8940HX appears to be a rebranded 7940HX with only a minor clock speed increase of 100MHz in some pre-release listings. Similarly, the other models show slight variations, suggesting that this generation primarily offers a cosmetic refresh rather than significant improvements.