What do AMD’s confusing processor names mean?

Despite being the first company to introduce a 64-bit desktop processor in 2003, AMD lagged behind Intel in the market for years. The company closed the gap with the Ryzen series announced in 2017. The names AMD gives for this processor series can be very confusing at first. Let’s see what it is.

Let’s learn the classification of AMD processor names

The AMD Ryzen processor series, introduced in 2017, is currently the company’s main product and is divided into four different series:

• Ryzen 3: The processors in this series are primarily designed for daily use. Ideal for smooth video playback and web browsing and playing entry-level games.
• Ryzen 5: It is an ideal series for casual games, basic image and video editing, and media playback with high audio and video quality.
• Ryzen 7: You can run high-graphics games and edit RAW photos and 4K videos without stuttering. You can also play 4K HDR videos without any glitches.
• Ryzen 9: This is the high point of the series. It can run AAA games with ease and complete complex 3D and other demanding tasks in no time. Of course, everything else we mentioned above.

Now let’s talk about other coding in the Ryzen series. This is where AMD processor names get difficult.

What do AMD processor codes mean?

The coding of the processors in the Ryzen series is 4 digits. Let’s examine the digits of the Ryzen 5 7640U processor one by one, based on the image shared by AMD:

• first digit: The first digit indicates the model year of the processor. If the first digit is 7, this indicates that the processor is a 2023 model. If it’s 8, it’s 2024, if it’s 9, it’s 2025.
• Second digit: The second number refers to the family of the processor. If the second digit of the processor code is 5 or 6, it is part of the Ryzen 5 segment. Ryzen 7 series may have 7 or 8 as the second digit. Ryzen 9 series can use 8 or 9 in the second step. For example, if the processor code is 7945HX, the processor is part of the Ryzen 9 series.
• Third digit: This is where things get interesting. The third figure shows the microarchitectures of AMD processors. The company uses the term Zen, which indicates the manufacturing process in nanometers. If the third digit is 3, it means the processor is based on an older Zen 3/Zen 3+ 7nm/6nm microarchitecture. On the latest Zen 4 processors, the third digit is 4, and they are based on AMD’s most advanced 5nm manufacturing process.
• fourth digit: The last digit further specifies the different processors within the series. Let’s take the 7730U and 7735U as an example here. Both are part of the Ryzen 7 segment, but the first is a 15W processor with a 2GHz base clock and maximum boost clocks of up to 4.5GHz. The second is a 28W processor with base clock speeds of 2.7GHz and maximum boost clock speeds of 4.75GHz. There is also a difference in the number of graphics cores (8 for 7730U – 12 for 7735U).

Finally, let’s talk about the letters that sometimes appear at the end of all these numbers:

The letter at the end of AMD processor names is TDP (Thermal Design Power) in watts, which expresses power consumption under maximum load.

First, let’s look at the meanings of the letters in the processors used in laptops:

• E (9W): It is a fanless variant for U-series processors and is used in affordable laptops.
• C (15-28W): Designed for power-saving Chromebook devices.
• U (15-28W): They are lower clocked laptop processors for thin and light devices.
• HS (35W+): They are high-performance processors with integrated graphics and draw less power.
• HX (55W+): It is the processor that offers the highest performance in AMD’s processor series.

Now let’s look at the meanings of the letters in the processors used in desktop computers:

• F: Processors without integrated graphics
• g: APU processors with high-performance AMD Ryzen integrated graphics
• G.E.: Processors with integrated AMD Radeon graphics but lower performance
• X: Processors with higher clock speeds and higher power consumption
• XT: Processor that is better than X due to higher clock speeds
• X3D: Processor with AMD’s 3D V-Cache technology for better gaming performance
• S: Processor that prioritizes efficiency and features integrated AMD Radeon Vega graphics

How did you like this guide we prepared about AMD processor names? Please don’t forget to share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.