Tested: AMD’s Ryzen 7 6800U brings big performance to tiny laptops

With the launch of its first Ryzen 6000 cell processors earlier this yr, AMD supercharged the efficiency of lighter laptops. Earlier than, you needed to look to 5 – 6 pound laptops to get the type of energy now obtainable in a three-and-a-half pound pocket book.

However that launch was from the AMD’s beefier H-class processors—chips with a TDP of 35W or greater, meant for gaming, content material creation, and different heavy manufacturing duties. Now comes the following spherical of laptop computer CPUs, these meant for thinner laptops weighing underneath three kilos. These U-series processors are rated at a variable TDP of 15W to 28W, with the Ryzen 7 6800U because the headliner.

We’ll have a deeper dive into this chip’s efficiency quickly, however for now, listed below are the 5 key takeaways you must know primarily based on our testing.

1) It’s a lot highly effective in multithreaded duties

Let’s take a look at the uncooked benchmarks for multithreaded productiveness duties, then dig into the information after.

While you take a look at benchmarks that make use of a number of cores and threads, like these centered on rendering or encoding, the Ryzen 7 6800U can publish sturdy numbers. Our take a look at outcomes present some respectable (and even sizable) double-digit positive aspects on earlier generations of processors. Whereas the story right here isn’t a couple of dramatic uplift in efficiency, the numbers do inform us this newest Ryzen processor isn’t any slouch. You’re not compromising by selecting a chip designed for a thin-and-light laptop computer.

Certain, shifting as much as a Ryzen 9 6900HS would enhance efficiency considerably—55 % in Cinebench R23’s multithreaded take a look at, for instance. However you’d acquire an additional pound or so (0.54 kg) as effectively. Our 14-inch 6900HS evaluation laptop computer tipped the scales at 3.6 kilos (1.6 kg); our 13-inch 6800U evaluation laptop computer is available in at 2.4 kilos (1.1 kg) and can be nearer to 2 kilos (1 kg) with a non-touchscreen. That weight issues when your main objective is to maintain your backpack or briefcase gentle and also you don’t have to crunch onerous on large recordsdata. The 6800U packs a punch for its measurement. In actual fact, it’s not far off from the 6900HS’s predecessor, the 4900HS—simply 2.9 % decrease in Cinebench R23.

The identical consideration applies to competitors just like the Apple M1 Max MacBook Professional, too. It edges out the 6800U in Cinebench R23 by about 16 %, for instance, however the 14-inch model weighs 3.5 kilos (1.6 kg). The actual competitors is probably going Intel’s Twelfth-gen Alder Lake laptops. Based mostly on our take a look at Intel’s flagship H-class Alder Lake cell processor (aka the highest chip from a extra highly effective line of CPUs present in beefy, performance-oriented laptops), we anticipate Intel’s greatest Alder Lake U-class processor would supply an in depth struggle, too, however these chips aren’t obtainable but.

2) However gaming is the place it shines

We already know the RDNA 2-based built-in graphics in Ryzen 6000 cell CPUs are highly effective. The Ryzen 9 6900HS trounced the Core i9-12900HK’s on-board graphics. Utilizing the identical expertise as present in AMD’s Radeon RX 6000 sequence of graphics playing cards is a profitable method.

However the Ryzen 7 6800U’s similar skill to play video games at 1080p at tolerable body charges has much more real-world affect. Sure, even when your graphics settings are on Medium or Low. 

As touched on in our 6900HS recap, discussing top-notch built-in graphics efficiency in that high-end chip and even different H-class processors is an mental train. They nearly all the time get paired with discrete graphics. Not so with thin-and-light notebooks. However with a Ryzen 7 6800U laptop computer, you don’t want a devoted GPU. Dropping one right into a two-pound productiveness laptop computer transforms it into a light-weight gaming machine as effectively. You might need to drop right down to 720p in some video games, and also you gained’t have the ability to crank visible choices to the max, however you may nonetheless play them regionally on the PC, reasonably than must depend on cloud-streaming providers like GeForce Now or Xbox Cloud Gaming. Only a handful of years in the past, gaming on a thin-and-light laptop computer wasn’t actually a factor.

3) It’s good, however not nice for primary productiveness

Most individuals don’t take into consideration discovering one of the best laptop computer CPU for workplace work. However when you spend your time in Outlook or PowerPoint to the close to exclusion of the whole lot else, you really would possibly wish to take note of benchmarks for these applications. Not less than, it is best to when you’re deciding between a high-end Ryzen 6000 U-class chip and different up to date choices.

While you take a look at the outcomes for the way the Ryzen 7 6800U stacks up in opposition to older chips, you’ll see some enhancements—however you’ll additionally see the way it doesn’t all the time beat the Intel Core i7-1195G7 or Ryzen 7 5800U. The Ryzen 7 6800U isn’t any slouch in on a regular basis productiveness duties, however you might discover one other Ryzen U-series chip may higher fit your wants and finances. On the flip facet, when you can’t afford to be slowed down when firing off electronic mail or assembling slide decks, or can’t bear something however ultra-zippy internet looking, you might be higher off with an Intel laptop computer as an alternative.

By the best way, hardcore Excel customers shouldn’t contemplate their wants as falling underneath primary productiveness. Crunching numbers on the degree of an Excel eSports competitor hits a CPU fairly onerous, as you may see within the chart above.

4) It allows velocity throughout the board

AMD

Chances are you’ll already recall this data from the Ryzen 9 6900HS launch, however in case you forgot, Ryzen 6000 processors include platform upgrades, too. So whenever you’re laptops with the Ryzen 7 6800U, you’ll wish to weigh extra than simply efficiency benchmark outcomes.

Ryzen 6000 sequence CPUs help PCIe 4.0, USB 4, DDR5 reminiscence, Wi-Fi 6e, and Bluetooth Low Vitality 5.2. For a pocket book with a U-class processor just like the 6800U, that interprets to quick storage and reminiscence, in addition to faster knowledge transfers with USB gadgets and over wi-fi connections. USB 4 ports additionally help DisplayPort 2 and charging, decreasing the variety of cables you want. These are the sorts of options individuals could not instantly take into consideration when evaluating present laptops in opposition to older fashions, however they’ll make a fabric distinction in your day-to-day expertise, particularly because the pocket book ages.

5) Battery life is nice

PCWorld

In contrast to desktop PCs, the variability in laptop computer design impacts efficiency. Two laptops can have the identical processor however notably completely different leads to assessments.

Battery life isn’t resistant to this impact. How lengthy a single cost lasts relies upon not simply on the processor, however the battery measurement and the show’s energy consumption, too. Nonetheless, a battery benchmark helps determine which chips present significantly good or unhealthy efficiency, even when it’s a easy video rundown take a look at.

Our ordinary benchmark includes taking part in the Tears of Metal 4K video on loop whereas in airplane mode, with earbuds plugged in at 50 % quantity and the display brightness set to a comparatively vivid 250 to 260 nits. When given this job, our 6800U laptop computer lasted for nearly 16 hours. That’s a wonderful stretch of time, particularly when you think about the pocket book’s measurement.

AMD has claimed Ryzen 6000 processors can attain as much as 24 hours of battery life, however their testing methodology makes use of a dimmer, more-energy environment friendly display brightness of 150 nits. Due to the dearth of apples-to-apples comparability, what’s extra necessary right here is how the Asus Zenbook 13 with the 6800U stacks up in opposition to the identical mannequin with a 5800U—you get a 25 % bump in battery runtime. An additional three hours is a tangible improve, and backs up the concept Ryzen 6000 improves on battery life in comparison with earlier generations. Ultimately, that’s what issues.