AMD Launches Mendocino APUs: Zen 2-based Ryzen and Athlon 7020 Series with RDNA 2 Graphics
by Gavin Bonshor on September 20, 2022 3:00 PM EST
Even though the main focus this month has been on AMD's upcoming launch of its Ryzen 7000 desktop series processors based on the Zen 4 architecture, AMD is also in the process of launching its 7020 series of processors designed for entry-level mobile, codenamed Mendocino. It has launched four new SKUs for mobile, including two Ryzen series models and two Athlon variants, all based on its Zen 2 architecture.
As we learned in May, AMD's Zen 2 based 'Mendocino' APUs are designed as part of its lower-end mobile processor stack for entry-level thin notebook and laptop solutions. The affordable APUs incorporate up to 4 Zen 2 CPU cores, as well as AMD's integrated Radeon 610M graphics, all with a maximum TDP of 15W.
Focusing specifically on the AMD 7020 series APUs announced today, the top SKU is the Ryzen 5 7520U. Using AMD's new Ryzen Mobile CPU numbering system, the 7520U is a model year 2023 chip under the Ryzen 5 series banner using its Zen 2 core architecture. The U suffix technically means 15-28W, but in this case AMD has confirmed that all of the current chips have a max TDP of 15W.
The AMD Ryzen 5 7520U benefits from a 2.8 GHz base frequency across its four cores, with a 1T boost frequency of up to 4.3 GHz. It also includes a total of 6MB of cache, split between 4MB of L3 and 2MB of L2 (512KB per core).
| AMD Ryzen 7020 Series (Mendocino) Lineup | ||||||
| SKU | Cores/Threads | CPU Frequency (Base) |
CPU Frequency (1T Boost) |
Cache | iGPU | TDP |
| Ryzen 5 7520U | 4C / 8T | 2.8 GHz | 4.3 GHz | 2MB L2 + 4MB L3 | Radeon 610M | 15 W |
| Ryzen 3 7320U | 4C / 8T | 2.4 GHz | 4.1 GHz | 2MB L2 + 4MB L3 | Radeon 610M | 15 W |
| Athlon Gold 7220U | 2C / 4T | 2.4 GHz | 3.7 GHz | 1MB L2 + 4MB L3 | Radeon 610M | 15 W |
| Athlon Silver 7120U | 2C / 2T | 2.4 GHz | 3.5 GHz | 1MB L2 + 2MB L3 | Radeon 610M | 15 W |
Moving down the stack is the Ryzen 3 7320U, which has four cores and eight threads but a base core clock speed of 2.4 GHz and a single core boost frequency of up to 4.1 GHz. Like the Ryzen 5 7520U, it also benefits from a combined cache of 6 MB across its L2/L3 cache structure.
Looking at the Athlon-branded 7020 series chips, the Athlon Gold 7220U offers two cores and four threads, with a base frequency of 2.4 GHz, a single core boost frequency of up to 3.7 GHz, and 5 MB of shared L2/L3 cache. The Athlon Silver 7120U is pretty much the Athlon Gold 7220U, but it has a slightly lower 1T boost frequency of 3.5 GHz, no simultaneous multithreading (SMT) support, and half as much L3 cache (for a total of 3MB instead of 5MB)
AMD Radeon 610M with two graphics cores for performance at the entry-level
All of today's announced AMD's Zen 2 Ryzen and Athlon 7020 series will support up to 32 GB of LPDDR5 memory in a dual-channel (64-bit) configuration, and feature two graphics cores/CUs based on its RNDA 2 technology, which AMD is branding the Radeon 610M integrated graphics chip. All four mobile APUs will also include a TDP of up to 15 W.
At the time of writing, AMD hasn't revealed specific pricing aside from a total laptop price range of between $399 and $699. However, it has announced that its AMD Ryzen 7020 Series Ecosystem partners are Acer, HP, Lenovo, and Microsoft, with notebooks featuring these chips expected to start appearing on retail shelves sometime in Q4 2022.
Source: AMD
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Dolda2000 - Tuesday, September 20, 2022 - link
Any word on clock frequencies for the GPU and memory?I currently have a laptop with a 3500U in it, which has 8 Vega CUs, but when on battery they clock down to a mere 200 MHz. If these 2 RDNA2 CUs clock to around a GHz or so, they might allow to keep around the same level of performance but potentially at a fraction of the power consumption, which would be quite interesting to me.
I'm actually looking forward to these chips more than the future Phoenix APUs, it'll be very interesting to see how they perform when they hit actual products. It is a bit weird that they decided to brand the top model as a Ryzen 5, though. It really seems to me that it belongs firmly in the Ryzen 3 category.
Ryan Smith - Wednesday, September 21, 2022 - link
"Any word on clock frequencies for the GPU and memory?"1900MHz for the GPU on all SKUs.
Memory is LPDDR5-5500 on a 64-bit bus.
lightningz71 - Wednesday, September 21, 2022 - link
On the AC adapter, the 3500u should still be a better performer in games. On Battery, with the agressive downclocking of the iGPU on the 3500U, Mendocino may actually wind up being faster. Those 2 CUs are much more performant than the Vega CUs on a 1:1 basis, and should be able to maintain well over three times the clock speed on battery. The memory bus, while only being half the width of the 3500U, will still likely have similar performance to the one on the 3500u given the improvements that the DDR5 interface has over DDR4. Battery life should be much better per watt capacity.meacupla - Wednesday, September 21, 2022 - link
I don't understand why these 7020 "Zen2, but with DDR5 and RDNA2" parts exist.Why would AMD use Zen2 here, rather than Zen3 or Zen3+?
Does Zen3, 3+ have poorer yields compared to Zen2?
Because if it's battery life, I don't think I noticed any difference between Zen2/Zen3
Ryan Smith - Wednesday, September 21, 2022 - link
Zen 2 is smaller, and the IP was built around a 4 core CCX. So it's a relatively straightforward assembly of different IP blocks.Conversely Zen 3 is larger, and the CCX is designed for 8 cores. They'd have to design a new CCX layout just for Mendocino.
Dante Verizon - Wednesday, September 21, 2022 - link
The difference between zen2 and zen3 in mobile apus is small. That's not the bad part, the horrible part is having only 2CU on the iGPU..TheinsanegamerN - Wednesday, September 21, 2022 - link
zen 3 was noticeably better on battery usage, where on earth are you guys reading reviews at?Dante Verizon - Wednesday, September 21, 2022 - link
Notebookcheck.Power management depends on each manufacturer's implementation and laptop design. There is huge variation, there are laptops based on Zen2 with higher efficiency than some based on Zen3 and vice versa.
neblogai - Thursday, October 20, 2022 - link
Notebookcheck tested the same chassis with Zen2 Lucienne, and Zen3 Barcelo- and (with whatever updates AMD did for Lucienne), Zen3 had no benefit in battery life.krumme - Wednesday, September 21, 2022 - link
Is this to move GF capacity untill the WSA expires?