AMD has been selling “Ryzen AI”-branded laptop processors for around a year and a half at this point. In addition to including modern CPU and GPU architectures, these attempting to capitalize on the generative AI craze by offering chips with neural processing units (NPUs) suitable for running language and image-generation models locally, rather than on some company’s server. But so far, AMD’s desktop chips have lacked both these higher-performance NPUs and the Ryzen AI label.

That changes today, at least a little: AMD is announcing its first three Ryzen AI chips for desktops using its AM5 CPU socket. These Ryzen AI 400-series CPUs are direct replacements for the Ryzen 8000G processors, rather than the Ryzen 9000-series, and they combine Zen 5-based CPU cores, RDNA 3.5 GPU cores, and an NPU capable of 50 trillion operations per second (TOPS). This makes them AMD’s first desktop chips to qualify for Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC label, which enables a handful of unique Windows 11 features like Recall and Click to Do.

The six chips AMD is announcing today—the 65 W Ryzen AI 7 Pro 450G, Ryzen AI 5 Pro 440G, and Ryzen AI 5 Pro 435G, along with low-power 35 W “GE” variants—all bear AMD’s “Ryzen Pro” branding as well, which means they support a handful of device management capabilities that are important for business PCs managed by IT departments. At this point, it doesn’t seem as though AMD will be offering boxed versions to regular consumers; the Ryzen AI desktop chips will appear mainly in business PCs that don’t need a dedicated graphics card, but which do benefit from more robust graphics than AMD offers in regular Ryzen desktop CPUs.

AMD’s initial lineup includes a total of six chips, split between variants with 65 W and 35 W default TDPs. None match the specs of chips like the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, which includes 12 CPU cores and a 16-core Radeon 890M GPU.
Credit: AMD

Like past G-series Ryzen chips, these are essentially laptop silicon repackaged for desktop systems. They share most of their specs in common with Ryzen AI 300 laptop processors, despite their Ryzen AI 400-series branding. The two chip generations are extremely similar overall, but the Ryzen AI 400-series laptop CPUs include slightly faster 55 TOPS NPUs.

Unlike past launches, AMD is not providing its top-end laptop silicon for desktop use, at least not yet. None of these chips include the full compliment of 12 CPU cores that you can get in the Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 or 370; you also can’t get the Radeon 880M or Radeon 890M integrated GPUs. The three models AMD is announcing today top out at 8 CPU cores (likely split evenly between the faster Zen 5 cores and slower, smaller, and more power-efficient Zen 5c cores) and a Radeon 860M integrated GPU with 8 RDNA 3.5 graphics cores.

AMD could always decide to release higher-end processor options at a later date, but the fact is that it makes little financial sense to try and build mini gaming PCs around socket AM5 processors right now. These need pairs of fast DDR5 sticks to maximize their performance, and prices for fast DDR5 sticks have shot into the stratosphere over the last year. It’s hard to make any kind of gaming PC make financial sense right now, but the frames-per-second-per-dollar you get from a desktop iGPU make them particularly unappealing. This may explain why the CPUs are targeting business desktops first.

The Ryzen AI 400 desktop CPU announcement is in line with what AMD announced at CES earlier this year: low-key iterations on existing technology that do little to push the envelope. Maybe that’s the best that we can expect, given current RAM and storage shortages and the fact that most of the world’s chipmakers are all competing for manufacturing capacity at TSMC.