AMD’s Mobile Revival: Redefining the Notebook Business with the Ryzen 9 4900HS (A Review)
by Dr. Ian Cutress on April 9, 2020 9:00 AM ESTLow Power Performance
Truth be told, I didn’t go into this review with low power testing in mind. These sorts of laptops, while capable of driving high performance on the go, are essentially expected to be connected to the power socket when performance is needed. Even the best ultraportables struggle for battery life when everything is whirring at full tilt. Nonetheless, after my own experiences of 3 hours of gaming on power with a Matebook X Pro and a high screen brightness, it is a genuine use case.
For these tests, the settings and software are the same as normal, but the only change is that the power cable has been removed and the power setting in Windows has been moved to ‘Best Battery Life’. We’re still in the Recommended Power Plan and not the Battery Saver Plan. What this does is force the OS and system to manage its power appropriately between CPU and GPU. In these circumstances being able to distribute the power where it is needed most can be a very critical factor in getting a project finished, or having a game that is playable.
Our tests here, due to time, are the following:
- Civilization 6, 1080p MSAA 8x, AI Test (On Battery, Battery Saver)
- Borderlands 3, 1080p Medium (On Battery, Battery Saver)
- Counter Strike Source, 1080p Max (On Battery, Battery Saver)
So previously Intel had a very slight advantage in AI turn time here, but as we move to a power limited scenario, AMD takes a more substantial lead – over 10%.
Where we had a small 5% win for AMD in the full power scenario, the gap is a bit bigger percentage wise for AMD in the low power scenario. It is still under 30 FPS, which is probably unplayable for BL3.
Now CSS is a little odd. When I’m in Battery Saver mode but plugged in, I get the full power FPS value. But the minute I take it out, on the Razer Blade, something goes a bit mental and we end up being limited to 60 FPS. V-Sync is disabled in every setting I think of, and yet there doesn’t seem to be a way of getting off of 60 FPS.
Ultimately in every scenario, in a few small tests, where Intel might have been ahead on wall power, AMD pulls ahead on limited power.
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Tams80 - Thursday, April 9, 2020 - link
It's still not as handy as having a webcam just there, at a decent height and angle with no stands/tripods, etc. to worry about. And of course no Windows Hello.RollingCamel - Thursday, April 9, 2020 - link
That's for sure.Hardware Geek - Friday, April 10, 2020 - link
I'm with you on the webcam. I've done the exact same thing and never used mine. The first think I do is put tape over it. No webcam is a plus for me personally.Namisecond - Monday, April 13, 2020 - link
Dogma meets reality.I had the same moment, when I bought my last laptop. I thought I needed massive computing power and the ability to game triple-A titles on the go. But then I remembered how I actually used my computer. A lot of note-taking, media consumption, web-browsing. For all the times I actually had to do any "heavy lifting" on the laptop, It was more likely I'd save it for when I got to a desktop or workstation with a big screen. What does this have to do with web cams? I've never had to use the ones that came with my laptops, but I see others who do. I'd like for my laptop to have the capability, but rationally speaking, I don't need it. It shouldn't be a deal-breaker for me.
R3MF - Thursday, April 9, 2020 - link
Would love to see a cheaper model with:No dGPU
R9 4900H
16GB+512GB
1080p 120hz screen
same battery
joaolx - Thursday, April 9, 2020 - link
Would also love for something similar although not necessarily this model. I have no need for one on a laptop but would love to have one of these new chips . My dream machine right now would be:No dGPU
Any of the 8 Core/16 thread options - 4900H/HS or 4800H/HS or 4800U
32GB + 1TB
Any decent 1080p or higher display really, indifferent on higher refresh
Similar battery life - if even better with the 4800U it'd be my choice
twotwotwo - Thursday, April 9, 2020 - link
Speculation, but sounds likely you'll get exactly what you're asking for when the 4800U-based thin-and-lights come out.R3MF - Thursday, April 9, 2020 - link
If they're set to 25w with cooling to match then yes.neblogai - Thursday, April 9, 2020 - link
~same for me: H(/HS), 16GB of LPDDR4, in a 13-14" ultraportable with bright screen.mocseg - Friday, April 10, 2020 - link
Lenovo Yoga slim.