PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

AMD Packs an NPU Into Ryzen Desktop Processors Built for AI

At MWC, AMD reveals the Ryzen AI Pro 400 Series chips meant for businesses.

 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

Our Expert
LOOK INSIDE PC LABS HOW WE TEST
65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS
(Photo by Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

AMD is trying to appeal to businesses with desktop processors optimized for AI applications, including Microsoft’s Copilot+. At Mobile World Congress, it introduced the Ryzen AI Pro 400 Series, which doesn’t just pack a CPU and a built-in GPU, but also a neural processing unit

At CES in January, AMD introduced its next-generation XDNA 2 NPU, which excels at running AI applications at low power. But at the time, the NPU was reserved for the company’s consumer-focused Ryzen AI 400 series for laptops and mini PCs, which are slated to arrive this quarter.

(Credit: AMD)

At MWC, AMD is talking up Ryzen Pro silicon for enterprises. The chip maker is expanding the XDNA 2 NPU to desktops as Microsoft and other software companies push more generative AI applications in the workplace. In a briefing, AMD specifically noted that the new desktop processors can run Copilot+ features, which have been limited to chips with dedicated AI processing power. 

(Credit: AMD)

It looks like the Ryzen AI Pro 400 Series will be the first desktop chips that can power Copilot+. The most powerful of the three chips, the Ryzen AI 7 Pro, features 8 CPU cores with an up to 5.1GHz in boost clock speeds along with 8 RDNA 3.5 GPU cores for graphics processing. Each chip also comes with a lower-power 35-watt variant, enabling PC makers to fit it into smaller desktop devices. 

(Credit: AMD)

Ryzen AI Pro 400 Comes to Laptops, Too

For business laptops, AMD is introducing the Ryzen AI Pro 400 Series mobile processors, which also pack an XDNA 2 NPU and a built-in RDNA 3 GPU.

There are six chips in the series, with up to 12 CPU cores and a boost clock speed of up to 5.2GHz. According to AMD, the chips can deliver up to 19.8 hours of battery life. Team Red also claims the most powerful processor in the series, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX Pro 470, can beat Intel’s “Panther Lake” Core Ultra X7 358H in processing speeds, including for AI workloads.

(Credit: AMD)

Like before, these AMD chips have also been optimized to run Microsoft Copilot+ features. AMD envisions using these processors to power next-generation AI PC laptops and more powerful mobile workstations.  

The first PCs with the new Ryzen AI Pro 400 chips are expected in Q2. AMD says over 200 “commercial designs” are in the works from companies including Acer, Asus, Lenovo, HP, and Dell.

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

Read full bio