Our verdict after the tests is pretty simple: AMD offers the best mobile processor for powerful laptops right now. Intel does manage slightly higher performance figures in single-core scenarios, but the single-digit advantage is paid for by the higher power consumption. The other advantage of the Raptor Lake-HX chips is the lower idle consumption thanks to the efficiency cores.
The new Ryzen 9 7945HX humiliates the Raptor Lake HX models in the multi-core tests, especially considering the consumption figures. Intel is still competitive when you look at the performance numbers alone, but only in devices (like the MSI GT77 Titan) where the CPUs can consume more than 170 Watts. This is a massive challenge for the cooling solution and you are usually confronted with loud fans as a result. The most impressive results for the Ryzen 9 7945HX are between 80-100 Watts, where the chips is still faster than many Raptor Lake-HX systems with much higher power limits.
The Ryzen 9 7945HX is an impressive showcase for the efficiency and performance of the new Zen4 cores. The results are still impressive in the range between 80-100 Watts and still competitive with some of the fastest Raptor Lake-HX CPUs.
We did not evaluate the integrated graphics chips, but these CPUs are only shipped in combination with discrete graphics cards, so the iGPU performance is not really important. It is also tricky to compare the gaming performance with different laptop models, since other components like the RAM and especially the GPUs and their power limits play an important role. Our reviews of the two ne AMD powered laptops from Asus did not show any performance problems, though.
The Ryzen 9 7945HX is also very interesting for notebook manufacturers since it offers comparable performance to Intel chips at much lower power limits. This leaves more headroom for the cooling, either for more powerful GPUs or simply quieter fans. If we had to choose a powerful laptop right now, we would take a laptop with a Zen4 processor, but the big question is once again the supply. You can purchase the first laptop models with Zen4 right now, but the number of models is much smaller compared to Raptor Lake-HX systems. The next couple of months will show whether AMD can ship a sufficient number of Zen4 CPUs.
