Amd based ultrabooks: The best AMD Ryzen laptops in 2022

AMD Ryzen CPUs in 2022

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(Image credit: AMD)

AMD Ryzen CPUs are at the forefront of AMD’s efforts to challenge Intel’s dominance in the laptop space. Thanks to their Zen 3+ architecture, the new Ryzen 6000 series CPUs have made a strong impression on the market at the start of 2022 with promises of even more to come later this year as Zen 4 based Ryzen 7000 series CPUs become available.

At AMD’s Product Premier during CES in early January, they revealed 13 new laptop CPUs in the Ryzen 6000 and Ryzen 5000 lines. All Ryzen 6000 series chips are based on the improved 6nm Zen 3+ architecture while the new Ryzen 5000 series chips will be brought up from Zen 2 to the newer 7nm Zen 3 process.

Model Cores / Threads Boost Frequency Cache TDP
AMD Ryzen 9 6980HX 8C/16T Up to 5. 0GHz 20MB 45W+
AMD Ryzen 9 6980HS 8C/16T Up to 5.0GHz 20MB 35W
AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX 8C/16T Up to 4.9GHz 20MB 45W+
AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS 8C/16T Up to 4.9GHz 20MB 35W
AMD Ryzen 7 6800H 8C/16T Up to 4.7GHz 20MB 45W
AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS 8C/16T Up to 4.7GHz 20MB 35W
AMD Ryzen 5 6600H 6C/12T Up to 4.5GHz 19MB 45W
AMD Ryzen 5 6600HS 6C/12T Up to 4.5GHz 19MB 35W
AMD Ryzen 7 6800U 8C/16T Up to 4.7GHz 20MB 15-28W
AMD Ryzen 5 6600U 6C/12T Up to 4.5GHz 19MB 15-28W
AMD Ryzen 7 5825U 8C/16T Up to 4.5GHz 20MB 15W
AMD Ryzen 5 5625U 6C/12T Up to 4. 3GHz 19MB 15W
AMD Ryzen 3 5425U 4C/8T Up to 4.1GHz 10MB 15W

Ryzen CPUs are named first by the product line: Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9. Higher numbers represent a higher tier of CPU. The second part of the name is the series or generation the chip belongs to and again a higher number indicates a higher performance part. Last is the CPU’s suffix, which categorizes the chip into four groups based on intended usage. 

(Image credit: AMD)

U-series is for lower wattage, thin-and-light configurations that won’t require substantial cooling systems and will offer longer battery life at the expense of performance. 

H- and HS-series are intended for high performance laptops and accordingly draw as much as double the amount of power and are likely to be found in systems that have similarly more demanding components like ultra high-res displays. 

HX-series are CPUs enabled for overclocking, which allows advanced users to boost the performance speed of the CPU beyond the listed range with the understanding that system stability can no longer be guaranteed.

Core count is the number of available CPU processing units which are used to execute tasks. More is always better. The thread count is the CPU’s ability to execute tasks simultaneously, this gets a little muddier as it depends on the specific workload to take advantage of a higher thread count. Gaming increasingly takes advantage of multithreading and certain post-processing effects in specific games do benefit from multithreading. However, tasks like video rendering see substantial performance benefits from a higher CPU thread count.

(Image credit: AMD)

Boost frequency, also known as clock speed, represents the CPUs performance speed. The listed numbers are the speed of the processor during a selected performance boost which takes place during heavy workloads and is considered the CPUs rated top speed. A CPUs frequency is a major contributor to both thermal output and power draw and overclocking a CPU pushes these limits in pursuit of extra processing power.

CPU cache is a small on-board memory pool that the processor uses to store frequently accessed data in a space where it can be accessed many times faster than from your hard drive. A higher cache allows for more of this data to be placed in high speed memory.

TDP (Thermal Design Power) is the measurement, in watts, of the CPU’s maximum power consumption. The overclockable HX-series are not rated with a set TDP because this value increases with overclocking. The number listed for these CPUs is the maximum without any overclocking.

Zen 3+ Ryzen 6000:  New and improved

Ryzen 6000 series chips on the Zen 3+ platform feature some important improvements. The move to DDR5 CPU cache from DDR4 means even faster memory access on top of Zen 3’s unified 16MB cache layout, which represented a key improvement over the Zen 2 split cache design. USB 4.0 support will help with data transfer speeds and latency for advanced peripherals. 

(Image credit: AMD)

Wi-Fi 6E support will enable laptops to stay at full signal strength across longer distances and in places where interference would otherwise cause connectivity problems, such as spaces heavily congested with other wireless signals. RDNA2 integrated graphics promise to offer a competitive experience with dedicated GPUs, according to AMD. Future benchmarking will tell the complete story about how far you can push the on-board graphics when running modern games.

Zen 3 Ryzen 5000U series

Ryzen 5000 series CPUs on this list represent new additions to the 5000 series and run on original Zen 3 technology, improved over the previous 5000 series Zen 2 chips. AMD appears interested in keeping choices for lower power configurations plentiful by bringing these 5000U series chips to market. This is good news for people looking for a new, lightweight laptop. While U-series Ryzen 5000 CPUs won’t be powerhouses, they’re sure to be more affordable and accommodate less bulky hardware.

AMD Zen 3+ Ryzen 6000 vs Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake

Comparisons between these two competitors are sure to be a close race. There’s already announced laptops sporting the option to choose between these new flagship CPUs, like the Acer Nitro 5. Intel 12th Gen CPUs talk a more revolutionary game about changing fundamentals to power consumption and their split between power-focused cores and efficiency-focused cores, but most of Intel’s headline changes to Alder Lake are also AMD’s headlines about Zen 3+ and Ryzen 6000: Wi-Fi 6E, faster peripheral connectivity, a more potent integrated GPU and enhanced DDR5 memory.

Acer Nitro 5 (Image credit: Future)

The changes to Intel’s 12th gen chips make direct number comparisons a little difficult. AMDs top chip has 8 cores and 16 threads compared to Intel’s 6 cores and 8 threads for its “P-Cores” and 8 cores and 8 threads for its “E-Cores.” Does this mean AMD has the edge? Not necessarily. 

Likewise, AMD is using a 6nm node process while Intel is on a less dense 7nm process for Alder Lake, where traditionally a denser microprocessing technique yields better results, even this measurement isn’t the be-all end-all. It’ll be up to hands-on tests and benchmarking to provide a full picture on how these chips really measure up.

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These are the best AMD Ryzen laptops in 2022

Typically, Intel processors have been much more prevalent than AMD ones, especially in laptops. Even today, many of the best laptops you can buy are powered by Intel processors. However, since introducing the Ryzen family, AMD has made great strides in becoming more popular, and more and more fantastic laptops have shown up with AMD Ryzen processors inside.

We’re now at the point where you can find really great laptops powered by AMD Ryzen in all different segments of the market. Whether you want a new gaming rig, a premium laptop, or something to get work done, AMD processors are now at the heart of many devices, and they’re some of the best you can find, too. If you’re looking to upgrade to a new AMD laptop, we’ve rounded up the best options you can find today. As we’ve mentioned, these laptops cover a lot of ground, so no matter what you’re looking for, you’re bound to find something you like here. Let’s get started.

Navigate this article:

  • Best overall: HP Envy x360 15
  • Best gaming laptop: Razer Blade 14
    • Budget gaming laptop: HP Victus 15z
  • Best mainstream convertible: Lenovo Yoga 6
  • Best lightweight laptop: HP Pavilion Aero
  • Best business laptop: Lenovo ThinkPad Z13
  • Best with an OLED display: ASUS Zenbook 13 OLED
  • Best budget laptop: Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1

Best overall: HP Envy x360 15

If you’re looking for a versatile high-end AMD Ryzen laptop, the HP Envy x360 15 is an absolutely fantastic option. It’s powered by AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors, and it has a premium design and the versatility only a convertible can offer.

Starting with performance, the HP Envy x360 is powered by the AMD Ryzen 5000 series, specifically a Ryzen 5 5625U or Ryzen 7 5825U. These are no longer AMD’s latest processors, but the fact is many ultrabooks are still using AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series, specifically in the U series. You’re still getting up to 8 cores, 16 threads, and boost speeds up to 4.5GHz, so you’re certainly not going to be missing out on performance. Additionally, you get to choose between 8GB or 16GB of RAM, though we’d recommend the latter for optimal performance. You can also get up to a 1TB SSD for storage, so you won’t need more space anytime soon.

The display on the HP Envy Envy x360 is also pretty good. It’s a 15.6-inch panel with Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, a 16:9 aspect ratio, and 400 nits of brightness. Some users may scoff at the lack of a taller screen, but this is still the ideal form factor for media consumption. You can’t upgrade the resolution, Full HD is already enough for the majority of users. We would have liked the option to go higher, but it’s not a huge deal.

A highlight of the latest iteration of the HP Envy x360 is the webcam. With its 2022 laptops, HP is going all-in on high-quality webcams, and that means you get a 5MP sensor capable of 1080p video, complete with features like auto framing and lighting correction. Plus, the camera supports Windows Hello facial recognition, so unlocking your PC is as easy as it gets.

Design-wise, the HP Envy x360 is a fairly standard convertible, meaning the display hinge rotates 360 degrees so you can use it as a tablet. It comes in a sleek black colorway that looks great anywhere, though it doesn’t do a whole lot to stand out from the crowd. It measures 18.54mm thick and weighs 3.92lbs, which is a bit on the heavy side, but when you consider it’s an aluminum convertible with a large display, those numbers make a lot more sense.

As for ports, you get two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader in addition to a proprietary charging port. That’s a very solid setup that covers all the needs you’re likely to have, and you can connect a lot of peripherals this way. You do miss out on Thunderbolt support because this is an AMD laptop, but that’s going to be the case for just about every laptop here.

Overall, the HP Envy x360 is a fantastic convertible laptop powered by AMD Ryzen processors, and while there are newer processors in some laptops, you can’t really go wrong with it.

    HP Envy x360 13
    The HP Envy x360 is a premium convertible with the latest AMD Ryzen processors and other high-end specs.
    See at HP