AMD steps up fight against Intel with Ryzen 5000 laptop processors

A close up of an AMD Ryzen processor in the X570 motherboard socket
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

AMD has revealed its new range of Ryzen 5000 mobile processors as it looks to steal the laptop crown from rival chipmaker Intel.

Much like last year's Ryzen 4000 series, the Ryzen 5000 series is split into two categories. The H-series has been designed for gaming and content creation, while the U-series has been built with ultraportable notebooks in mind.

The majority of the new Ryzen 5000 processors are based on the same 7nm Zen 3 architecture as the desktop Ryzen 5000 CPUs that launched at the end of 2020, which AMD claims provides the "industry's best" performance and energy efficiency.

The top-end AMD Ryzen 9 5980HX processor, for example, is capable of up to 23% increased single-threaded performance and up to 17% faster multi-threaded performance over the previous generation, and it supports up to 17.5 hours of general usage battery life.

Heading up the U-Series is the eight-core, 16-thread Ryzen 7 5800U, which AMD claims delivers “the fastest productivity in ultrathin notebooks”. The company claims the processor outperforms Intel’s Core i7-1165G7, particularly in productivity apps such as Microsoft Excel and Edge.

AMD also announced the Ryzen PRO 5000 Series mobile processors, which deliver enterprise-grade security and seamless manageability to commercial users.

“As the PC becomes an even more essential part of how we work, play and connect, users demand more performance, security and connectivity,” said Saeid Moshkelani, senior vice president and general manager of AMD's client business unit.

“The new AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Desktop and Mobile Processors bring the best innovation AMD has to offer to consumers and professionals as we continue our commitment to delivering best-in-class experiences with instant responsiveness, incredible battery life and fantastic designs. With our PC partners, we are delivering top-quality performance and no-compromise solutions alongside our record-breaking growth in the notebook and desktop space in the previous year.”

AMD says the first Ryzen 5000-based portable PCs will appear in February from a number of PC manufacturers including Asus, HP, and Lenovo.

The unveiling of AMD's Ryzen 5000 processors come just hours after Intel launched its Tiger Lake-H processors. These 10nm chips feature four cores and eight threads - half that of Ryzen’s top offering.

Carly Page

Carly Page is a freelance technology journalist, editor and copywriter specialising in cyber security, B2B, and consumer technology. She has more than a decade of experience in the industry and has written for a range of publications including Forbes, IT Pro, the Metro, TechRadar, TechCrunch, TES, and WIRED, as well as offering copywriting and consultancy services. 

Prior to entering the weird and wonderful world of freelance journalism, Carly served as editor of tech tabloid The INQUIRER from 2012 and 2019. She is also a graduate of the University of Lincoln, where she earned a degree in journalism.

You can check out Carly's ramblings (and her dog) on Twitter, or email her at hello@carlypagewrites.co.uk.