AMD and Intel are gearing up to refresh their laptop CPU lineups, setting the stage for a heated competition in the mobile computing market. AMD is reportedly working on the Ryzen 200 “Hawk Point Refresh” processors, while Intel preps its Core 200 “Raptor Lake Refresh” CPUs.
Despite the buzz surrounding the upcoming AMD Ryzen AI 300 “Strix Point” and Intel Core Ultra 200 “Arrow Lake” CPUs, there remains a significant demand from OEMs to move existing inventory. The answer? Refresh these well-known lineups with new names and enhanced performance.
The upcoming AMD Ryzen 200 series, part of the Hawk Point Refresh family, will echo the specifications of the current Ryzen 8040 series. Expect up to 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the powerful Zen 4 core architecture. These CPUs will feature up to 8 MB of L2 cache and 16 MB of L3 cache, with TDPs ranging from 45 to 54W. The integrated graphics punch will come from the Radeon 780M iGPU, packing up to 12 Radeon “RDNA 3” compute units. However, don’t anticipate an AI branding for these chips—their AI NPU compute tops out at 16 TOPS, and the platform is rated at 39 TOPS, falling just short of Microsoft’s Copilot+ “AI PC” 45 TOPS requirement.
On the other side, Intel’s forthcoming Core 200 “Raptor Lake Refresh” marks the third iteration in the Raptor Lake series, following the 13th and 14th Gen releases. These CPUs will be branded under the Core 200 banner, not the Core Ultra 200, which is reserved for the more advanced Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake CPUs. Look forward to configurations featuring up to 14 cores (6 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores) and 24 MB of cache, with TDPs between 35 and 115W. The integrated graphics will stick with the 96 EU “Iris Xe” setup.
Expect AMD to launch its Ryzen 200 “Hawk Point Refresh” CPUs early next year, coinciding with the release of the Strix Halo and Krackan series. Intel’s Core 200 “Raptor Lake Refresh” CPUs, on the other hand, will debut later this year. These refreshed CPUs will be housed in laptops featuring the current generation of GPUs—like the RTX 40, RX 7000, and Arc A-Series—with new RTX 50 configurations reserved for the next-gen platforms.
The upcoming releases from both AMD and Intel promise to keep the laptop market exciting, providing powerful options for users looking to upgrade or invest in new devices. Stay tuned as these tech giants continue to raise the bar in mobile computing.
