AMD Ryzen CPUs set to be rebranded, following Intel's steps

AMD Ryzen CPUs are being somewhat rebranded, focusing more on their AI capabilities. This new change follows the launch of the new Core Ultra chips from Intel. These Arrow Lake CPUs have lost the "i" Core i3/i5/i7 for a simpler Core 3/5/7 moniker. However, Ryzen chips aren't getting such a massive update to their terminology.

According to a leaked listing of an Asus Vivobeek laptop, the existence of an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 170 CPU has just been confirmed. Team Red has already advertised the AI capabilities of their new Ryzen 8040HS series devices. It's only natural that the next generation is going to be aggressive with it.

These leaks come from reliable tipster @harukaze5719 who posted a screenshot of the Asus page on X.

Besides just the "Ryzen AI" moniker, we also have "HX" and "170." These two are segregated with a space in between. This is another step at simplifying the naming convention and a departure from how AMD CPUs are named today.

At the top of the current lineup, we have the AMD Ryzen 9 8940HS. You'll have to determine what the chip delivers from the cryptic "8940HS" string. This will be easier if these leaks materialize, as AMD brings "HX" to the front to denote it is their flagship chip, going by past trends.

The next-generation laptops were mistakenly listed on the website and have since been replaced with the currently available models. However, given laptops with the next-generation AMD CPUs are already ready with third-party vendors like Asus, we can expect them to launch soon.

Based on previous trends, I believe the next-gen AMD Ryzen AI CPUs will hit shelves next month at Computex.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer's opinions.

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AMD Ryzen AI might be a classier rebrand than the Intel Core Ultra

AI is the buzzword in today's tech industry. Its hype has peaked in recent years, according to the Gartner hype cycle. Every tech company is now trying to join the bandwagon, and AMD Ryzen is no exception.

The upcoming chips might also get a massive upgrade to their NPUs. According to screenshots shared by @harukaze5719, the XDNA chips powering it will have compute prowess of 45 TOPs, up from the 16 TOPs XDNA units bundled with the Ryzen 9 8945HS chip.

However, this only makes the chips better at light machine learning workloads like security and OS-based applications. They are not meant for training demanding ML models, unlike a dedicated GPU. For some context, the RTX 4090 has a computing prowess of 1,300 TOPs.