AMD’s Mobile Revival: Redefining the Notebook Business with the Ryzen 9 4900HS (A Review)
by Dr. Ian Cutress on April 9, 2020 9:00 AM ESTCPU Benchmarks
Comparison of these two CPUs is going to be interesting. Both laptops being tested excel in different ways:
| ASUS Zephyrus G14 vs Razer Blade 15 | ||
| ASUS Zephyrus G14 |
AnandTech | Razer Blade 15-inch |
| Ryzen 9 4900HS | CPU | Core i7-9750H |
| 8 / 16 | Cores / Threads | 6 / 12 |
| 1400 MHz | Idle Frequency | 1100 MHz |
| 3000 MHz | Base Frequency | 2600 MHz |
| 4300 MHz | Rated 1T Turbo | 4500 MHz |
| 4500 MHz | Measured 1T Turbo | 4200 MHz |
| 35 W | TDP Listed | 45 W |
| - | TDP Measured | 35 W |
| - | PL2 Listed | 60 W |
| - | PL2 Measured | 45 W |
| 16 GB DDR4-3200 22-22-22 1T |
DRAM | 16 GB DDR4-2666 19-19-19 2T |
The ASUS device has more cores, and by the looks of our testing, actually turbos to a higher frequency, regardless of the sticker on the box. We’ve already shown that AMD’s Zen 2 can have comparable if not better IPC than Intel’s Coffee Lake refresh, so add that to the more cores, should put every test in AMD’s camp.
What should benefit Intel here is the on-box TDP, of 45 W, compared to the AMD 35 W. When we fired up our usual program for monitoring Intel frequencies, it showed that there is a hard coded BIOS boost up to 60 W, which we thought should give some extra power. However, when the system was actually set to a workload, the peak turbo power was only 45 W, which the system was able to keep for 10-15 seconds. Then it sat back at 35 W, which makes it in line with AMD. This is odd performance from the Intel CPU, however we assume at this level that Razer has made the decisions in order to fit within the thermal profile of the Blade 15 chassis.
If Intel has a lower frequency, fewer cores, and a lower frequency, all for the same power envelope as AMD, then it looks like a slam dunk for AMD.
It is. These systems are built with productivity in mind, and even with benchmarks that are bursty like PCMark, AMD takes the win.
I also took some time to run the Civ 6 AI benchmarks, which performs 10 turns of a late game and averages the turn time. Intel won this test, but I performed it again with the power unplugged and on battery saver mode in Windows. The results were reversed:
This led me to do some more tests without power connected. I’ve separated these out into a different page, combining some CPU and some GPU data.
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Rudde - Friday, April 10, 2020 - link
Zephyrus is the god of the west wind in Greek mythology.mode_13h - Monday, April 13, 2020 - link
I also immediately thought of kamikaze, which literally translates to "divine wind".Not saying a play on the name wasn't warranted, just not that one.
Deicidium369 - Sunday, April 12, 2020 - link
well, maybe subliminal - AMD has a history of Crash and Burn... so maybe intended, maybe notmorello159 - Thursday, April 9, 2020 - link
I appreciate the in-depth review, particularly around the odd battery life inconsistency. Some other sites were reporting suspiciously low battery life as well - sounds like they may have had the same issue.I would buy this laptop at launch if it had a brighter screen. I can add a USB webcam, or use a USB dock for ethernet. But after using the XPS 13's glorious 500nit screen in a store, 260 nits is just not bright enough.
Reflex - Thursday, April 9, 2020 - link
Honestly this is it for me, I need a XPS13 competitor or preferably variant. Perhaps a Surface Book 4 would work if they offer a 32GB version.Agent Smith - Saturday, April 11, 2020 - link
With all the great press this laptop has received i suspect Asus will address both the screen and keyboard brightness issues soon.Maybe even during the replenishment stages as sold out everywhere.
s.yu - Sunday, April 12, 2020 - link
260nits is definitely not enough, because you have to account for backlight degradation a couple years into use. It'll become miserable anywhere but the most controlled ambience.PeachNCream - Monday, April 13, 2020 - link
Possibly for some users, yes 260 is too low, but not everyone is like that. Even with the windows open or in bright office lighting conditions, I usually run my laptop panel brightness at or close to as low as possible to reduce strain on my eyes. 200 nits feels way too bright so even a degraded panel that once pushed 260 is probably going to be bouncing around 10-30% brightness for a lot of us.JayNor - Sunday, April 12, 2020 - link
Anyone seen the MSI Creator 17 1000 nits display?jaskij - Thursday, April 9, 2020 - link
I'm surprised that the quick ramp up of turbo surprised you. Remember those crazy issues with desktop Zen 2 frequency switching too fast to actually measure? I wouldn't be surprised if AMD actually intentionally lowered those ramp ups times not to get bashed again.