Ever since AMD announced its next generation processors based on its Zen 3+ architecture, we haven't heard much about it. But now, a new benchmark leak could give us a deeper look at these processors in action before they start making their debut in some of this year's best gaming laptops.
The benchmark appeared on the Geekbench database on January 25 and details the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, which is one level below the company's flagship Zen 3+ chip, the Ryzen 9 6980HX.
The octa-core/16-thread processor has a base frequency of 3,30 GHz and a boost frequency of 4,84 GHz. The HX designation indicates that it is an unlocked processor, meaning its TDP would depend on the OEM. The benchmark result does not indicate the TDP of the chip when tested.
As for its results, they are impressive. You get 1.593 in single-core performance and 10.151 in multi-core performance. That's about 12% and 33% better than its predecessor, the Ryzen 9 5900HX, in single and multi-core performance, respectively.
However, as VideoCardz points out, that still puts its performance below the Core i9-12900H Intel Alder Lake CPU that it will directly compete with.
Intel's chip has 14 cores and 20 threads, so its multi-core performance is much better than the Ryzen 9 6900HX (up to 42% more). Its single core performance is also up to 21% better than the competitor AMD chip.
This is not the last word on the performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, however, since the TDP of this chip can be somewhat limited. These scores could improve significantly on a beefier gaming laptop with fewer qualms about pushing a high TDP. We won't know until we start seeing them for ourselves next month.
Analysis: Well, it's an improvement, but is it enough to dethrone Alder Lake?
As with all benchmarks before a launch, we have to take them with a grain of salt.
Still, assuming these results are legit, it's worth noting that the Ryzen 9 6900HX already performs significantly better than the Ryzen 9 5900HX. This is a great starting point for AMD. There are good reasons to be optimistic about this processor.
That said, AMD isn't competing with itself, and rival Intel Alder Lake processors are taking the crown at the moment. AMD's Zen 3+ needs to be competitive with Intel's latest silicon, and we're not sure that's going to be enough.
AMD has the advantage of including integrated RDNA2 graphics in its processors, which will certainly help differentiate its chips from Intel's. But if you're wasting money buying a Ryzen 9 or Core i9 gaming laptop, chances are you'll also opt for heavier discrete graphics.
Ultimately, AMD will have to boost the 6900HX's CPU performance if it hopes to compete with Intel, and those scores don't seem to do much to stop Blue Team.