Ryzen 4000 u series laptops

[ian87w]

Why am I looking at the last gen 4000 series? Because there are quite a bit of laptops with these chips and 16GB of RAM at good prices. I don't see laptops with the 5000 series chips widely available yet in my country. Intel has been quite heavy marketing wise with their 11th gen and EVO branding, but for the price, many only come with 8GB of RAM.

I'm looking for experiences and/or feedbacks on laptops using Ryzen 4000u series chips. I never had a laptop with AMD chip in it. My concerns would be stability and battery life. Appreciate any feedbacks from owners here.

 

[duanepatrick]

I am using a gaming laptop: Lenovo Legion 5. I use it mostly on games.
Ryzen 7 4800H
16GB RAM
GTX1650
80Wh battery

Only last 1-2 hrs depending on the game. So, I always stick it with the charger.

Maybe it depends on the battery pack/how you will use it.

Edit: Oof misread it. But 4800H and 4800U Ryzen 7 should be close to each other. https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-Ryzen-7-4800H-vs-AMD-Ryzen-7-4800U/m1032976vsm1005639

 

[nearfield]

Why am I looking at the last gen 4000 series? Because there are quite a bit of laptops with these chips and 16GB of RAM at good prices. I don't see laptops with the 5000 series chips widely available yet in my country. Intel has been quite heavy marketing wise with their 11th gen and EVO branding, but for the price, many only come with 8GB of RAM.

I'm looking for experiences and/or feedbacks on laptops using Ryzen 4000u series chips. I never had a laptop with AMD chip in it. My concerns would be stability and battery life. Appreciate any feedbacks from owners here.

I have a HP Elitebook 845 G7 with the Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U, 16GB RAM. I can recommend it. It gets pretty good battery life. I haven't measured it, but it's long enough that I don't feel like I have to take the charger with me. I guess about 7 or 8 hours real use with WiFi and high screen brightness. Fans are usually quiet, the processor is much more efficient than the 8th gen Intel I had before. There are several really positive reviews out there, e.g., https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/hp-elitebook-845-g7-review

The lineup includes different screens. I have the 400 nit FHD screen, which I like and which is the one every reviewer recommends. The lower-end FHD screen is too dark, and the top-end screen with HP's privacy filter is not good either.
Swapping out RAM and the M2.SSD is ridiculously easy. You can always get a less specced out machine and upgrade those yourself. Build quality and stability are excellent. The USB-C connectors feel like they are going to last a long time.

 

[Technerd108]

I have used laptops with AMD 4000 and 5000 series of mobile cpus. They are very good cpu's or as and calls them APU.

The u series is very good and 4000 and 5000 are both very similar. The main difference is multi threading and higher frequencies on some chips like 5700u is a multi thread chip where as the 4700u is not. Also if you get 5500u instead of 5600u you are getting the same zen 2 but it multi-threads while 5600u is on zen 3.

So if you find a model with a 4600u or better then you should be happy. The 6 core multi threaded chip and even the non multi threaded chip are very good. You don't need to get the 4700u or better unless you really want the extra power. There is not as big a difference between the 6 core multi thread and 8 core multi thread.

That all being said stability and battery life are better than Intel-well battery life maybe not stability. I only say that because AMD has a bad history with display drivers but beyond that there 4000 and 5000 series are much better in that respect from the 3000 series which I would avoid at all costs!!

The HP aero was on sale for $750 and has a Ryzen 7 5800u, 512gb ssd, 16gb ram and its display. Probably the best value right now. I have also seen the base model Ryzen edition of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 for $679 on eBay which is a steal. The surface has a modified 4000 series processor, 8gb ram, and 128 gb ssd and you can get a bigger ssd and replace it later yourself. Ram is soldered. Those are both solid Machines. An HP Spectre and Envy are also nice machines that you can find with AMD processors. Lenovo has some models but they are pretty expensive. Dell would be another good option.

Let me know if you have any specific questions as I am pretty knowledgeable about AMD mobile processors and laptops in general as I have a YouTube channel and review a lot of devices.

 

[Technerd108]

There have been some sales on Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 Ryzen edition both the base model and one with 16gb ram and 256Gb storage. The Ryzen edition uses 4000 series processors specifically made for the Surface Laptop.

The HP Aero is in a similar category but has a more up to date and more powerful Ryzen 5800u. The difference is going to be the screen and build quality. The Surface will be better.

I have seen the base model Ryzen edition Surface Laptop 4 Ryzen for $649 and $679 new on ebay from reputable sellers. I looked today and did not see the listing anymore but I would imagine since the release of the Surface Laptop 5 should be soon that sellers are getting rid of remaining stock and are willing to sell closer to cost just to get rid of them before the new model is released.

I would recommend that you look on ebay for Surface Laptop sales. The Aero has the specs you are looking for so if a plastic non touch screen is okay for you then the Aero is probably the best fit for your needs and the best value. The reason I suggested the Surface was if cost was an issue then for $649 you really can't get a better Windows laptop and you can add storage later is you wanted. Ram is soldered so you would have to deal with 8gb. If you could spend more the Surface with Ryzen 5, 512gb storage and 16gb ram is going for $1199 at BestBuy and around $975 new on ebay. You get much better specs but I am not sure it is worth double the base model. If I am spending over $1000 I want the latest and greatest and I would think if Microsoft was going to do a redesign on Surface products then this would be the year so I would wait.

So you can get a deal on an HP and there are HP Envy with AMD processors as well but they are more expensive but very nice. I really like HP for Windows laptops as they seem to have the best value/quality for the price.

I personally use a Surface device like the cheap Ryzen edition base model laptop 4 and I really like it. I have a MBP and the Ryzen surface edition. The Surface lasts a good 6-8 hours depending on what you are doing and I always have brightness turned all the way up and it is set to performance mode.