The recent launch of Alder Lake processors has re-ignited the competitive CPU market, and with the company now planning to unveil its mobile lineup at CES 2022, it’s past time for the competition to prepare a swift response. While AMD and Intel are both expected to unveil their Ryzen 6000 “Rembrandt” H-Series laptop APUs at CES, it’s what comes after that has us most excited.
Ryzen 6000 Rembrandt
The upcoming Ryzen 6000, or Rembrandt-H, mobile APU lineup will be based on the new 6nm Zen3+ architecture and will feature RDNA 2 integrated graphics for the first time on an APU.
We don’t know the exact clock speeds yet, but we can only expect a slight improvement over Ryzen 5000. Nonetheless, a shift from a 7nm to a 6nm process, as well as significantly improved graphical capability, is sufficient to justify a new generation.
Following Ryzen 6000, AMD will release Zen4, its next-generation CPU architecture, which will come standard with RDNA 2 graphics, effectively turning the processors into APUs.
For the first time since Ryzen’s launch, AMD’s mainstream (non-Ryzen G) desktop processors will include an iGPU as standard, similar to Intel’s. This is an area where Intel has had a significant advantage in the past, but AMD is attempting to close the gap.
Zen4 Mobile APUs
Along with the desktop processors, AMD will release Phoenix-H and Raphael-H mobile APUs for laptops based on the Zen4 microarchitecture. The real fun begins at this point.
There have already been rumors and reports claiming that AMD will do something to counter Intel’s newly gained core count lead thanks to Alder Lake, and Zen4 mobile APUs appear to be the answer.
AMD’s Zen 4-based Raphel-H laptop APUs, according to Greymon55 on Twitter, will have up to 16 cores and 32 threads, up from the standard maximum of 8 cores and 16 threads seen in Ryzen mobile APUs since Zen 2. Phoenix-H, on the other hand, will be more of a step up from its predecessor, as it will keep the 8-core, 16-thread topology that was introduced with Zen 2.
Because the Rembrandt-H lineup of mobile APUs based on Zen3+, and possibly the Vermeer-X3D lineup of desktop APUs based on Zen3D, will be called “Ryzen 6000,” Zen4 laptop and desktop APUs will most likely be called “Ryzen 7000.” As a result, it’s only natural that Ryzen 6000 will be followed by Ryzen 7000 in 2023.
The desktop Ryzen 7000 processor is currently codenamed “Raphael,” while the mobile Ryzen 7000 processor is codenamed “Phoenix.” And, according to Greymon’s tweet, AMD will essentially continue to release its standard mobile APU in the form of Phoenix-H, but this time, the desktop segment, dubbed Raphael, will be brought down to the mobile platform (Raphael-H), resulting in a flagship mobile APU to compete with Intel.
Ryzen 7000 Phoenix-H
The Phoenix-H is expected to be released on the FP8 mobile platform, which will be the direct successor to the brand-new FP7 platform that we’ll see with the Ryzen 6000 mobile.
As a result, we can expect FP7 to last only one generation before being replaced by FP8 next year. To put things in perspective, the Ryzen 5000 Cezanne-H mobile APUs are currently on the FP6 platform.
Phoenix-H, as previously stated, is a minor but nonetheless significant update. It will have an 8-core and 16-thread maximum core count, as well as upgraded RDNA 2 iGPUs, and a TDP of less than 40W for the entire family.
The Phoenix-H will most likely be aimed at the budget end of the market, with a mass audience in mind who require a reliable and fast new laptop but aren’t concerned with top-of-the-line specifications.
Ryzen 7000 Raphael-H
When it comes to top-of-the-line, AMD’s flagship laptop APU with Zen4 will be Raphael-H. It will have a maximum of 16 cores and 32 threads, as well as a 32MB boosted max L3 cache.
The TDPs for this family will be above 45W and up to 65W, and as you may have guessed, this lineup of flagship APUs will only be found in the most high-end laptops, with only a few mere mortals able to get their hands on it.
Okay, I may be exaggerating a little there, but trust me when I say it will be a limited-edition product with a certain amount of cachet because it will be the best mobile APU in town if Intel doesn’t pull a surprise. Even the top-end Ryzen 5000 laptop APUs are hard to come by these days, with the 5980HX, the family’s flagship APU, appearing in only one laptop so far.
We don’t know nearly as much about Raphael-H as we do about the upcoming Rembrandt-H lineup and the Phoenix-H family from 2023. We didn’t even know Raphael was a mobile platform; the Raphael codename was previously only associated with desktop Ryzen 7000 processors.
However, we do know that Raphael-H is supposed to be the best of the bunch, and that it will most likely have an upgraded Navi GPU architecture compared to Phoenix-H.
Recap
If you’re still having trouble remembering all the codenames and release dates, here’s a quick rundown:
2021: Ryzen 5000
Desktop codename: Vermeer
Laptop/Mobile codename: Cezanne
Microarchitecture: Zen3 (based on 7nm fabrication process from TSMC)
2022: Ryzen 6000
Desktop codename: Vermeer-X3D (unconfirmed rumor)
Laptop/Mobile codename: Rembrandt
Microarchitecture: Zen3+ for mobile, Zen3D for desktop [rumor] (based on 6nm fabrication process from TSMC)
2023: Ryzen 7000
Desktop codename: Raphael
Laptop/Mobile codename: Phoenix (standard), Raphael (high-end)
Microarchitecture: Zen4 (based on 5nm fabrication process from TSMC)
The Bottomline
That should give you a good idea of what AMD has planned for the next two years. It’ll be fascinating to see how this race between the CPU behemoths plays out now that everyone appears to be working on big projects.
Due to its 14-core, 20-thread mobile i9-12900 processor, Intel currently leads in mobile core count, and AMD is expected to fall behind until at least 2022. However, when AMD allegedly releases a 16-core, 32-thread mobile APU in 2023, this battle will heat up considerably.
Well, that’s all we know so far about AMD Zen 4 mobile APUs with up to 16 Cores launching in 2023. We hope this guide helped you.
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