AMD Introduces Ryzen Pro 8000-series Processors: Bringing Zen 4 Architecture and AI Engines to the Commercial Market

AMD is expanding its Ryzen Pro line with “Hawk Point,” the new 8040-series intended for commercial laptop and workstation users, as well as the Ryzen 8800 “Phoenix” APU for commercial desktop PCs. AMD underscored that the processor manufacturer pursues a strategy of professional versions of its standard processors for consumers. For instance, AMD is proud to be the first and only x86 business to have developed AI-processing neural processing units in both mobile and desktop PCs using its standard processor models.

AMD’s All-New Ryzen Pro 8000-series Processors

In other words, AMD has already extended its AI acceleration to commercial users, making it the first manufacturer of laptops and workstations that have professional CPUs equipped with NPUs. AMD’s XNDA engine accelerates the NPU’s processing: AMD’s mobile processors also have better NPU performance than Intel’s. The net value of AMD’s product is 16 TOPS, which the silicon does, while Intel achieves 11 TOPS according to its Meteor Lake NPU. AMD’s overall system TOPS, which considers both CPU and GPU AI processing power, also has a marginal lead at 39 TOPS to Intel’s 34 TOPS.

Even in the desktop scenario, AMD’s Ryzen 8000 APUs have an integrated 16 TOPS NPU engine, which is not found in Intel’s desktop processors. While the current generation of both AMD and Intel chips still fails to achieve Microsoft’s next-gen AI PC requirement of 45 TOPS, all future AMD and Intel chipsets should be significantly better. This requirement is aimed at enabling Microsoft’s Copilot AI features locally on PCs. However, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite Arm chips will debut with 45 TOPS of NPU performance, and Apple’s M3 processors offer 18 TOPS of NPU performance, bypassing Microsoft’s requirements.

The ability to run AI workloads locally addresses critical privacy concerns and offers performance and power efficiency advantages. However, realizing this potential necessitates tightly integrated software solutions, emphasizing the importance of developer partnerships in the evolving AI ecosystem. Both AMD and Intel are actively engaging with ISVs (independent software vendors) and IHVs (integrated hardware vendors) to drive AI-driven solutions. However, AMD boasts over 150 ISV partnerships in 2024, and Intel’s AI Developer Program has already achieved 100 ISV and 100+ IHV partnerships. Regarding the hardware, the incumbent Ryzen Pro 8040-series processors utilize the ‘Hawk Point’ architecture.

They are obtained for various TDP ranges and product branches, which include the U-series and specific HS variants. A separate 45W model is expressly suited for workstations. Peak core counts are between six and eight cores, as contrasted with their analogous consumer counterparts, with matching numbers of threads. Maximum attainable clock rates are constant with their consumer parallels. The Ryzen 5 Pro 8540U variant lacks an incorporated NPU, which corresponds to its analogous consumer variant in this and other determinants.

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