AMD recently changed the naming scheme that they use for mobile CPUs which left many people confused. I am not surprised that the naming scheme changed since everything in the PC hardware industry is always changing. However, what came as a surprise was the fact that they only made it worse not better. In this post I am going to explain what changed in AMD’s naming scheme as well as say why that wasn’t a very good decision.
Side note: mobile CPUs is a term used to describe CPUs that can be used with laptops, chromebooks, etc. It doesn’t refer to mobile phones.
AMD’s Old Naming Scheme
I already explained everything about AMD’s old naming scheme and even Intel’s naming scheme in separate posts. I will not get into too much detail here, I will just mention the main points:
- Brand: Like Ryzen™ or Athlon™.
- Family: Each brand has different families and each family provides a different level of performance.
- Generation indicator: It tells us the generation of the chip, newer generations are generally better.
- Performance level: A number that represents the performance level of the CPU. The higher the better.
- Model number: When AMD makes a new improved version of an already existing CPU it gives it a higher model number.
- Suffix: Provides additional information about the CPU.
AMD’s New Naming Scheme
There are differences and similarities between the old and the new naming scheme. The new naming scheme used by AMD consists of:
- Brand: Like Ryzen™ or Athlon™.
- Family: Each brand has different families and each family provides a different level of performance.
- Portfolio model year: Basically the year in which the CPU was made.
- Market segment: Each number refers to one of the families we mentioned earlier.
- Architecture: Indicates the architecture, in other words the design of the CPU.
- Feature isolation: Differentiates between lower end and higher end models within a particular segment.
- Form factor/TDP: Or simply, a suffix.
Brand
AMD has many brands that produce CPUs. As for mobile devices, there is Athlon which is more budget oriented and Ryzen which produces mainstream processors.
Family
Within each brand there are several families. First of all, Athlon which has 2 families. Athlon Gold typically represents higher-end or more powerful processors and Athlon Silver represents more budget-friendly options.
Also, there is Ryzen which has 4 families. Ryzen 3 is ideal for those on a tight budget but still want good performance. Ryzen 5 is the mainstream, it is a balance between cost and performance. Finally, Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 are for people who use more demanding programs or play some heavy games.
Portfolio Model Year
A number that corresponds to the year when the CPU was created. You might be wondering why did they start with 7 for 2023 instead of 1 or 3 for example. The reason is that the previous series was called the 6000-series, and since the new naming scheme was confusing enough they decided to not make it more complicated which is why we have the 7000-series for 2023.
Market Segment
A number representing the family of the CPU. 1 for Athlon Silver, 2 for Athlon Gold. Now, for some reason we have not 1 but 2 numbers that refer to Ryzen 3 which are 3 and 4. Additionally, Ryzen 5 also has 2 numbers, 5 and 6. 7 refers to Ryzen 7, 8 refers to Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9. Finally, 9 refers to Ryzen 9.
Wow AMD what an upgrade to the naming scheme! Anyway…
Architecture
If you’re not familiar with what the term architecture means in CPUs, it basically means the design of the CPU. Whenever AMD comes up with a new and better design they give it a higher number. So, Zen 4 is newer than Zen 3 and so on.
Feature Isolation
Remember the market segments we mentioned earlier? Lower models within these segments will be given the number 0 and higher models will be given a 5.
Form Factor/TDP
A suffix at the end of the name to tell you more about the CPU. All of them are included in this list:
| Suffix | TDP | Description |
|---|---|---|
| HX | 55W+ | Max Performance |
| HS | ~35W+ | Thin Gaming/Creator |
| U | 15-28W | Premium Ultrathin |
| C | 15-28W | Chromebook |
| e | 9W | Fanless variant of “U” |
Why Isn’t The New Naming Scheme Good?
What was good about the older naming scheme is that it was pretty straightforward, the first number tells you the generation, the rest represents performance and then there is a suffix. Now it isn’t as simple, especially when you consider that the majority of people who use computers and want to know how to buy a CPU aren’t tech enthusiasts.
Moreover, the Portfolio Model Year thing can be a little deceptive. Let’s say AMD releases a CPU called Ryzen 5 8640U, most people will think that it’s the newer generation of the Ryzen 5 7640U and that isn’t true. The thing is, a new generation means a new architecture. In this imaginary case, both of them use the Zen 4 architecture as we can see from the name (Ryzen 5 8640U). The only thing that changed is the year of production and probably some minor improvements.
