26 PCWorld FEBRUARY 2020NEWS CES 2020: CHIPS, LAPTOPS & BADASS PC GEAR
AMD VS. INTEL VS. NVIDIA
Let’s start with the heavy hitters powering the
chips inside the PCs you buy.
After claiming desktop dominance from
Intel (go.pcworld.com/dkdm) for the first
time in a long time in 2019, AMD came out
swinging at laptops at CES 2020. The
company revealed Ryzen 4000 laptop
processors (see page 12) at its keynote, built
using the same 7nm process that made
3rd-gen Ryzen and Threadripper CPUs so
great, with both energy-efficient U-series and
gaming-ready H-series processors planned.
Get this: AMD says it’s introducing “the best
laptop processor ever built,” and claims that
its top-tier H-series chip can outpunch even
Intel’s desktop Core i7-9700K in some
scenarios. Hot damn.
AMD also revealed pricing, speed, and
release date info for its monstrous 64-coreAMD announced details of its monstrous 64-core Threadripper 3990X processor.Threadripper 3990X (go.pcworld.com/64cr).
It’ll cost $3,990, appropriately enough, when
it launches on February 7. We also chatted
with Ryzen development leader David McAfee
for further insights into Threadripper 3990X
(go.pcworld.com/390x) and Ryzen 4000 (go.
pcworld.com/mb40), as well as Anandtech’s
Dr. Ian Cutress for how Ryzen 4000 squares up
against Intel (go.pcworld.com/squp) in
laptops.
Laptop makers are already lining up to
deploy the latest Ryzens, a stunning
turnaround from the norm for AMD. The
company says over 100 laptops will ship with
Ryzen 4000 inside, with several flagship
models on display at CES. Dell’s G15 SE (go.
pcworld.com/15se) will serve as a showcase
for AMD’s mobile efforts, with both Ryzen
4000 and Radeon 5000M chips inside. The
3.5-pound Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (go.