AMD Ryzen and AMD Ryzen PRO Processors

AMD Ryzen and AMD Ryzen PRO Processors

AMD Ryzen™ and AMD Ryzen™ PRO Processors are built for high performance laptops, desktops, and workstations. Whether you're a business multi-tasker, a competitive gamer, a digital artist, or just a PC enthusiast who demands the best, there's a lot to love in an AMD Ryzen CPU.

The impressive AMD Ryzen processor line-up includes multiple tiers, each with its own specifications and aimed at different (sometimes overlapping) groups of PC users:

• AMD Ryzen™ 3: Performance starts here, with an ideal combination of power and features for everyday work, home, and student use
• AMD Ryzen™ 5: Additional speed and features for gamers, professionals, and on-the-go users who need solid performance
• AMD Ryzen™ 7: Advanced performance, features, and battery life for professionals, creators and competitive gamers who want exceptional hardware
• AMD Ryzen™ 9: For users who accept only the best, with the highest speeds¹ and the most cores² to power premium PCs and laptops.

AMD also makes specialized CPUs for workstations – AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ Processors and AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO Processors. [See Lenovo Workstations with AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO Processors.]

AMD Ryzen processors are regularly cited as some of the most powerful and productive CPUs on the market today. Keep reading to learn more about the features and capabilities that make AMD Ryzen and Ryzen PRO processors so popular.

What are AMD Ryzen™ Processors?

AMD Ryzen™ (pronounced RYE-zen) is the brand name of the newest and fastest premium AMD computer processors. AMD Ryzen processors are built on the company's highly evolved “Zen” microarchitecture, the latest generation of AMD processor technology. They're highly popular and power a wide variety of Lenovo's top-selling laptops, desktops, and workstations.

Since their initial release in 2017, AMD Ryzen processors have won acclaim around the globe. Technology analysts say the new AMD Ryzen line-up has lifted AMD into direct competition with other manufacturers in terms of processor performance. Today, many reviewers list AMD Ryzen processors among the best you can buy, thanks to their fast responsiveness, advanced memory support, efficiency and battery life, and high speed at completing demanding tasks.

What makes AMD Ryzen Processors different?

What sets AMD Ryzen™ processors apart from other CPUs? That's simple: It's the technology within each chip that delivers more power and new, advanced features compared to earlier generations.

With the AMD Ryzen brand, the company added vastly more cores. AMD Ryzen processors offer from four cores to 16 cores for consumers, and as many as 64 cores for high-end workstations. AMD also introduced Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT), which doubles the processing resources, or threads, available for producing work from each core. So a four-core AMD Ryzen processor enjoys up to 8 processing threads, while a 64-core version boasts up to an astonishing 128 processing threads.

Compared to earlier AMD products, AMD Ryzen processors have several physical advantages:

• Smaller transistor structures – 14nm (“Zen”) and 7nm (“Zen 2” and “Zen 3”) — that are designed to use less power, generate less heat, and allow room for more cores on each chip
• Fewer shared resources, making each core more discrete, self-sufficient, and faster
• Improved intra-processor links for on-the-fly adjustments to core/thread utilization, to optimize performance
• Improved overclocking capabilities that can unleash additional processor cycles³ for even more performance for advanced users

AMD Ryzen Processors are available across the Lenovo PC line-up, including ThinkPad, Legion, Yoga, IdeaPad, and ThinkBook laptops and IdeaCentre, Legion and other desktops.

AMD Ryzen Processor specifications

Here's a high-level look at AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series processor offerings for laptops and desktops as of late 2021. Not every chip described here will be found on a Lenovo system, and over time, newer models will come out and older ones will be discontinued. But the list captures the depth and breadth of AMD Ryzen processor offerings and shows there's an AMD Ryzen CPU for virtually every user and computing need.

Table 1 shows the specifications of AMD Ryzen 5000 Series processors for laptops.

Table 1 : Ryzen 5000 Series mobile processors

Table 2 shows the specifications of AMD Ryzen 5000 Series processors for desktop PCs.

Table 2 : Ryzen 5000 Series desktop processors

For gamers, in particular, AMD Ryzen processors – with their excellent per-core performance and overclocking features – deliver incredibly fast frame rates to support today's demanding AAA titles. So for many gamers, a gaming PC powered by an AMD Ryzen processor is a logical choice.

What are AMD Ryzen PRO Processors?

AMD Ryzen™ PRO Processors are built primarily for business users. Not only do they feature Ryzen processor-level clock speeds, core/thread counts, and so on, they also deliver advanced data security features and fleet management capabilities that IT departments love.

If you're a heavy office multi-tasker, an AMD Ryzen PRO CPU has plenty of power for your needs. Multiple browser windows. Video conferencing. Screen-sharing presentations. Instant messaging apps. AMD Ryzen  PRO Processors can do it all.

Table 3 shows the specifications of AMD Ryzen PRO 5000 Series processors for laptops as of late 2021. Not every CPU shown here might be found in a Lenovo system, and over time, new models may be added (and older ones dropped). But the list captures the range of core available counts and other features.

Table 3: AMD Ryzen PRO 5000 Series processors

So AMD Ryzen PRO CPUs are impressive, as you can see. But it's their enterprise capabilities – collectively called AMD PRO technologies – that are turning heads. These include AMD PRO security, AMD PRO manageability, and AMD PRO business ready. Together they offer enterprise-grade security, manageability, and reliability features. Let's take a deeper look.

AMD PRO security: Enhanced system security features

All AMD Ryzen™ PRO processors come with AMD PRO security features that make them ideal for business and enterprise use. These advanced, on-chip security capabilities help combat today's increasingly sophisticated malware attacks and other threats.

AMD PRO security features on Ryzen PRO processors include:

• AMD Memory Guard: Encrypts memory data in real time to help prevent physical attacks that might reveal sensitive information and mitigate so-called "cold boot attacks."
• AMD Secure Boot: Extends the silicon root-of-trust to the system BIOS to defend against new-style attacks that seek to embed malware into the system firmware.⁵
• AMD Secure Processor: A dedicated security processor (separate from the main processing cores) that performs many encryption and other tasks for processing and storing sensitive data and trusted applications.
• AMD Shadow Stack: Helps protect the system from control flow attacks by confirming the normal program stack against a hardware-stored copy and enabling Microsoft Hardware Enforced Stack Protection.

AMD PRO manageability: Easy IT management

Along with their comprehensive data security protection features, AMD PRO manageability delivers a robust set of PC management features that are designed to help IT departments save time and money.

Some of the IT-friendly features of AMD PRO manageability include:

• Centralized system monitoring and upgrades
• Remote system repairs and restorations
• Support for Microsoft Endpoint Manager (cloud-based fleet management)
• Long-term platform stability (see more below):

AMD PRO business ready: Enterprise-grade quality assurance

AMD PRO business ready features provide IT decision makers with long term consistency to simplify IT planning and maximize return on investment.  All AMD Ryzen™ PRO processors offer enterprise-grade computing solutions that are designed for quality, stability, and reliability, in addition to platform longevity:

• 18 months of planned software stability
• 24 months of planned availability
• Enterprise-grade quality assurance and reliability
• Continuous platform validation to ensure dependability and a consistent user experience across multiple generations
  • OS updates
  • Firmware/BIOS updates
  • Driver updates

Taken together, these AMD PRO security, AMD PRO manageability, and AMD PRO business ready features help protect sensitive data, simplify system deployment, and dramatically expand remote PC management — all at enterprise scale and using current infrastructure.