ASUS Launches AMD Ryzen-Based ZenBooks: Two Laptops & a Convertible

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• GruenSein - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link

  I'd love to get an AMD-based mobile device but buying a Zen+-based machine months after Zen 2, which is not just a good competitor but actually just as fast or faster than Intel's offerings, has been released just feels wrong.

• sgeocla - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link

  Zen2 for now is just for desktops and servers. Those share the same CPU chipletd. It may take a while before it comes to mobile APUs such as Ryzen 3700 as they cannot use the normal Zen2 7nm dies and the IO dies that are actually 14nm.

• sing_electric - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link

  Doesn't make OP wrong - if you need a new laptop TODAY, sure, a Zen+ based one might be a decent choice, and it's refreshing to see Asus releasing AMD-based laptops that don't treat the platform like it belongs in the discount bin (as in, chunky plastic enclosure, medicore LCD screen and, in some cases, single channel RAM that really hurts performance).
  
  Having said that, if you can wait just a few months, you'll likely be able to get a 10nm Intel-based laptop, and at some point after that, a Zen2-based AMD one, which should have better performance and battery life, plus integrated graphics that will likely see a decent performance bump over the current 3000-series.

• sgeocla - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link

  I never said he was wrong. Everyone is free to decide if the wait is worth it or not.
  Also, Intel 10nm laptops are crazy expensive and not much better than Intel 14nm laptops if you normalize for RAM speed (10nm use 3733 LPDDRD4x) and power envelope (15w to 15w, 25w to 25W).
  Intel just launched new 10th gen 14nm laptops because 10nm is not mean to volume production. Cost won't come down much due to poor 10nm yields (max 4 cores vs 6 cores for 14nm).

• eek2121 - Friday, August 23, 2019 - link

  Laptops in general are a bad buy right now IMO. Unless you web browse, watch movies, and do homework (or work at a company that issues laptops like I do.) Performance on the mobile side has been stagnant until Intel rolled out 10nm. GPU technology is at a standstill.

• t.s - Friday, August 23, 2019 - link

  Unfortunately, Intel one price is not that steep compared with AMD now. Notebook price is not dictated by whose CPU the manufacturer use, but how much the manufacturer want to sell you.

• Targon - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link

  AMD could just implement a 7nm I/O die for the APUs as well and go for the CPU+GPU core design. Not sure how the size would end up, though we could potentially end up with a Zen2+7nm Vega pairing if Navi cores aren't used. They don't NEED to do a special die that combines both.

• Hul8 - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link

  I believe the someone (AMD?) has mentioned that chiplet design doesn't suit the low-cost parts: The CCDs for Ryzen 3rd gen are manufactured at TSMC over in Asia and the I/O dies in the US at GlobalFoundries. With the further logistics and assembly required to get the finished product, it's not worth it. That's why they intend on having a single die for the 4000 series (Zen 2) APUs.

• eek2121 - Friday, August 23, 2019 - link

  I don't believe it's been mentioned anywhere that they are going to have a single die. Maybe a single CCD, but that's a given, because the rest of the area is going to have a GPU. If we are lucky we MAY see them shrink the IO die to 7nm now that yields are up. That would drop the power budget and allow for more room for a better GPU.

• HStewart - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link

  This is crazy idea, but it would be possible to mix 7nm Zen2 CPU die with 14nm GPU die using Forevos but you probably will not want that.