AMD is preparing a whole range of new dedicated graphics processors (GPUs) for laptops, including some that promise to bring proper gaming to thin-and-light mobile systems.
At CES 2022, the company announced a new mobile GPU series called the Radeon RX 6000S. Expect the graphics chips to arrive in laptops that weigh under 4.5 pounds and feature a thickness under 20mm (0.78 inch).
“These GPUs are optimized for power efficiency and are enhanced with new performance-per-watt technologies,” said Sasa Marinkovic, an AMD marketing director, during a pre-CES press briefing. The same GPUs will also help PC makers create gaming laptops that are as much as 20% thinner than previous designs, he added.
'S' for Slim Laptops, 'M' for Classic Muscle
Although AMD didn’t offer any benchmark test results around the new chips, the new "S" GPU series will arrive via three models. The first, the Radeon RX 6800S, can power gaming at more than 100 frames per second (fps) on maximum settings, according to the company. (AMD did not specify on which games the RX 6800S might achieve 100fps.)
The second, the Radeon RX 6700S, can do the same, but only when the game is set on stepped-down "high" graphics settings. Meanwhile, the third GPU, the Radeon RX 6600S, can power 80fps-or-higher gaming at high settings, according to the company.
For bigger laptops, AMD is preparing an expansion to the current Radeon RX 6000M series. In a bit of a surprise, the company is going to start using TSMC's more advanced 6-nanometer (6nm) manufacturing process for two entry-level GPUs in the RX 6000M line: the Radeon RX 6500M, and the Radeon RX 6300M.
However, these two GPUs have been designed specifically for low-powered gaming in laptops with a TDP at 35 watts. The company again didn’t provide any benchmark numbers, but AMD claims the GPUs will be only 200% faster than Nvidia’s GeForce MX450 graphics chip, a low-end dedicated GPU designed for ultraportable laptops.
For high-end gamers, AMD is also prepping the Radeon RX 6850M XT, the company’s fastest GPU to date for mobile gaming. It still uses TSMC’s older 7nm manufacturing process, but it promises to be 7% faster than the existing Radeon RX 6800M, thanks to faster memory and higher clock speeds.
In addition, the company is working on a Radeon RX 6650M XT and an RX 6650M, which will both offer a 20% performance lift over their current counterpart, the Radeon RX 6600M. More on these new GPUs as they start to show up in sample testing laptops at PC Labs later this year.