Fire Range HX3D: AMD‘s Ryzen 9 9955HX3D is the 9950X3D for notebooks 17 comments
Image: AMD
Ryzen 9000 with Zen 5 in the laptop is codenamed “Fire Range”. The Ryzen 9000HX(3D) series processors also come with an X3D cache. AMD presented three of these processors in BGA format instead of LGA sockets at the show: Ryzen 9 9955HX3D, 9950HX and 9850HX. They take over the reins of Dragon Range aka Ryzen 7000H (X3D).
Is it better this time?
The predecessor AMD Dragon Range had a rather failed debut in 2023, and things were even worse with the latest X3D variant Ryzen 9 7945HX3D: to date, this product only exists in two systems from Asus and MSI.
The fact that AMD is still sticking with this product series gives hope that the company has learned some lessons from the past and that there is still demand among OEMs. The streamlined portfolio could be a learning success, as evidenced by the first details the company is showing to entrepreneurs at the CES 2025 trade shows.
Three Ryzen 9000HX(3D) in the first half
The first laptops with the new Fire Range chips are expected to appear in the first half (not the quarter). A late spring or summer 2025 launch is realistic, so Zen 5 will also be available in full size as a mobile companion. Because Ryzen 9000HX(3D) is ultimately the well-known desktop chip from the Ryzen 9000 series in a different package – and therefore everything else is optimized for energy efficiency compared to Strix Point and Co.
With Fire Range the focus is clearly on the absolute best performance on the market, which is why this time there is only AMD Ryzen 9. The predecessor also had Ryzen 7 and even Ryzen 5.
Key technical data at a glance
The previous five processor models will ultimately be reduced to three. However, the essential parameters remain the same, as the comparison of the tables reveals.
At the top of the AMD Ryzen 9000 mobile is the X3D model, which essentially corresponds to a Ryzen 9 9950X3D. Underneath are two classic processors – that’s it for this year. The previous Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 are covered by Strix Point.
Model code name Kerne/
Threads Basistakt Turbotakt Grafik Grafiktakt L2- + L3-Cache TDP Ryzen 9 9955HX3D Zen 5 (4 nm) 16/32 2.5 GHz 5.4 GHz RDNA 2, 2 CU? GHz 144 MB 54+ Watt Ryzen 9 9955HX 16/32 2.5 GHz 5.4 GHz 80 MB Ryzen 9 9850HX 12/24 3.0 GHz 5.2 GHz 76 MB Ryzen 9 7945HX3D Zen 4 (5 nm) 16/32 2.3GHz 5.4GHz ARNDR 2.2 CU 2.2 GHz 144 MB 55+ watts Ryzen 9 7945HX 16/32 2.5 GHz 5.4 GHz 80 MB Ryzen 9 7845HX 12/24 3.0 GHz 5.2 GHz 76 MB 45+ watts Ryzen 7 7745HX 8/16 3.6 GHz 5.1 GHz 40 MB Ryzen 5 7645HX 6/12 4.0 GHz 5.0 GHz 38 MB
Is there a Dragon Range update coming?
According to rumors from Asia that emerged today, Dragon Range (AMD Ryzen 7000HX Mobile) could also get a refresh. The four models would go on sale again under the names Ryzen 9 8945HX, Ryzen 9 8940HX, Ryzen 7 8840HX and Ryzen 7 8745HX, almost identical to before – below the three new processors.
AMD Fire Range HX (3D) as laptop flagship (Image: AMD)
Techtip received information about this item from AMD under NDA. The only requirement was the earliest possible publication date.
Topics: AMD AMD CES 2025 Press Conference CES 2025 Laptops Ryzen Zen Processors
Marc deciphers processors by testing their performance for gaming, content creation, and artificial intelligence.
