In response to the increasing costs of developing new silicon manufacturing processes, chipmakers like AMD are rebranding older processors to cater to the demand for budget laptops. This strategic move, also observed in Intel’s practices, aims to offer apparent newness while utilizing existing technology.
According to a report by Ars Technica, AMD has rebranded a selection of its Ryzen laptop chips, maintaining the same underlying silicon. The revamped processors utilize either Rembrandt-R silicon featuring Zen 3+ CPU cores and RDNA 2 graphics cores or Mendocino silicon with Zen 2 CPU cores and RDNA 2 graphics cores. While these architectures were originally introduced in 2022, the Zen 2 CPU architecture in Mendocino dates back to 2019. Formerly known as Ryzen 7035- and Ryzen 7020-series chips, these designs have now been reintroduced with new model numbers.
This marks AMD’s second rebranding of the Rembrandt-R silicon, initially launched as the Ryzen 6000 series in 2022. These rebranded chips are set to compete directly with Intel’s non-Ultra Core 100 series processors, predominantly based on 2022-vintage Raptor Lake silicon.
For consumers navigating the low-end and midrange laptop market, understanding these rebranding strategies is crucial to make informed purchasing decisions amidst the intricate web of product offerings.
Source: Ars Technica