AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX Coming to Framework?

Framework Laptop 16
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The title says it all

AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX Coming to Framework?

Is there any likelihood of this?

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Framework is pretty swamped right now. Having more TDP is pretty challenging in the current form factor, and getting a third form factor is not going to happen before next gen is coming. So no we’re not going to see 7945HX in framework laptops.

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AMD’s 7045 series CPUs (ex. 7945hx) are essentially soldered versions of AMD’s desktop Ryzen 7000 CPUs, whereas the 7040 series CPUs (ex. 7840hs/7940hs) are designed for laptops.

This makes the 7045 series not great for laptops as there are many design differences between laptop chips and desktop chips, including but not limited to:

  1. The 7045 series is split into multiple smaller chips internally, which allows for cheaper and easier scaling to higher core counts but introduces the need for relatively slow and power intensive communication between the chips, hurting performance and power efficiency. The 7040 series on the other hand is a single chip.

  2. The 7040 series is made on a recent manufacturing process (TSMC 4 nm) for maximum power efficiency, whereas the 7045 series is made on slight older manufacturing processes (TSMC 5 nm/6 nm) that have come down in price.

  3. The 7040 series has very powerful integrated graphics. The 7045 series on the other hand has an order of magnitude weaker integrated graphics. This would mean that customers of 7045 series CPUs would be much more likely to need to buy a graphics module to get adequate performance (which means the expansion bay couldn’t be used for other things).

  4. The 7040 series has integrated support for USB4, which is helpful for Framework’s expansion cards and for use with docking stations or eGPUs. The 7045 series does not.

I think all of those are reasons why the 7040 series makes more sense for laptops than the 7045 series, although afaik Framework’s CEO has only mentioned the last two reasons:

The 7045 series is really geared towards what I like to call desktop replacements. Those are like laptops but big, heavy, power hungry, and get the maximum performance. Not really intended for use on a lap but rather as a somewhat portable alternative to a desktop.

It’s possible that Framework could introduce a 7045 series CPU, however that would compromise on pretty much everything else in order to get maximum CPU performance. I doubt it’s a high priority (plus, it would require upgrades to the cooling system).

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I think they made the right choice. The Framework Laptop 16’s goal is to be versatile. Otherwise I wouldn’t have ordered one.
Also afair, according to nrp one of the main reasons for AMD not being introduced to the Framework Laptops till now, was the missing USB4 for the expansion slots.

If you want a laptop for gaming only, you better go with the ROG-Series or something similar.

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