AMD has been leading the way when it comes to 7nm performance chips with their Ryzen 3000-series desktop CPUs, the Threadripper 3000-series HEDT CPUs, and their Epyc Rome Server CPUs. While definitely leading Intel in the dust in this market space, the latest addition to their collection – The Ryzen 4000 series looks like it will be a tough game for Intel to follow.
While it is no surprise that AMD’s 7nm Zen 2 architecture will beat Intel’s CPU in terms of multi-threaded performance, it certainly puts Intel’s single-threaded performance at par. AMD has even outdone themselves in terms of improved battery life and performance at the same cost.
While last year’s Ryzen 3000 line did not implement Ryzen’s Zen 2 architecture, the latest series implements the latest bit of architecture to the fullest. AMD invited a Lenovo executive to take the stage and talk about their upcoming Yoga Slim 7 which will be an ultrathin 14-inch with prolonged battery performance and an upgraded performance boost.
While we had many concerns about the latest Ryzen 4000 due to its little brother’s battery issues, the Ryzen 4000 integrates a cleverly managed system of OEM and OS vendor integration to improve the direct hardware efficiency for their design which indirectly improves battery life significantly. AMD claims a 20% power reduction during the multi-threaded performance, even during load-heavy operations-per-watt twice than the previous design.
The first reason comes from shrinking the die design from 12nm to 7nm which gives rise to an increasing inefficiency. However, the significant boost comes from design improvements, particularly, the Renoir design which will incorporate the latest ACPI power-state model which runs on three separate states to shut down portions of the CPU. Basically, Renoir designs will feature an updated ACPI model for Windows and Linux which can inform the CPU on what power levels are required for the present load and how best to choose between higher and lower power draw.