AMD unveils Ryzen 5000 Pro chips for business laptops

An AMD Ryzen Pro 5000 processor inside a laptop
(Image credit: AMD)

AMD is bringing its 7nm 'Zen 3' architecture to the workplace with the launch of its Ryzen 5000 Pro series of mobile processors.

The AMD Ryzen 5000 Pro series, which the company claims will provide “uncompromised performance and battery life” for thin and light business laptops, consists of three chips - the Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U, Ryzen 5 Pro 5650U and Ryzen 3 5450U.

The Ryzen 7 Pro 5850 is the highest spec of the three, featuring an eight-core, 16-thread design, 20MB cache and base and boost clock frequencies of 1.9GHz and 4.4GHz, respectively. AMD claims the chip is the only processor with eight high-performance cores designed for thin and lightweight laptops.

In terms of performance, AMD claims the new Ryzen Pro Mobile lineup will outperform Intel's 11th-generation 'Tiger Lake' vPro series, which includes only quad-core chips. For example, the company claims the Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U is 10% faster than the Intel Core i7-1185G7 at running Microsoft Office apps while simultaneously running a 49-participant Zoom call.

In terms of battery life, AMD is claiming up to 17.5 hours of "general usage computing".

The AMD Ryzen 5000 Pro chips also feature a number of enterprise-focused security features such as AMD’s Pro Manageability platform, which is the company's competitor to Intel’s Active Management Technology, and hardware-level malware prevention in the form of AMD Shadow Stack.

The processors also support Microsoft’s Endpoint Manager, a platform for IT workers to manage PCs, servers, and other devices in their organisation.

“Navigating an increasingly distributed work environment requires more performance and security from our professional laptops. Businesses need to be confident they are investing in technology that will meet the needs of their employees, whether they are working remotely or from the office,” said Saeid Moshkelani, senior vice president and general manager, Client Business Unit, AMD.

“The new AMD Ryzen Pro 5000 Series Mobile Processors significantly increase the capabilities of ultrathin enterprise notebooks and deliver best-in-class user experiences with leadership performance, exceptional battery life and robust security features for every work environment.”

AMD claims its Ryzen 5000 Pro chips will show up in 63 business laptops this year, including designs from HP and Lenovo. The company claims that, as a result, the number of AMD-powered enterprise notebooks is expected to triple by the end of 2021.

The arrival of AMD's Ryzen 5000 Pro series comes just hours after the firm unveiled its third-generation Epyc Milan server processors, which it claims are "twice as fast" as Intel's Xeon data centre chips.

Carly Page

Carly Page is a freelance technology journalist, editor and copywriter specialising in cyber security, B2B, and consumer technology. She has more than a decade of experience in the industry and has written for a range of publications including Forbes, IT Pro, the Metro, TechRadar, TechCrunch, TES, and WIRED, as well as offering copywriting and consultancy services. 

Prior to entering the weird and wonderful world of freelance journalism, Carly served as editor of tech tabloid The INQUIRER from 2012 and 2019. She is also a graduate of the University of Lincoln, where she earned a degree in journalism.

You can check out Carly's ramblings (and her dog) on Twitter, or email her at hello@carlypagewrites.co.uk.