Tag: Ryzen AI 7 345

  • Acer Debuts Lightweight 16″ Laptop with 120Hz Display & 14-Hour Battery

    Acer Debuts Lightweight 16″ Laptop with 120Hz Display & 14-Hour Battery

    Key Takeaway

    – Acer has released new Aspire 16 models in Europe featuring AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 and Ryzen AI 7 345 processors (Krackan Point).
    – The Ryzen AI 5 330 has a significantly weaker iGPU (Radeon 820M) than the Ryzen AI 7 345 (Radeon 840M).
    – The Ryzen AI 7 345 model costs only €100 more than the Ryzen AI 5 330 in the Eurozone.
    – Both models feature 16 GB RAM, 512 GB storage, a 120 Hz 1200p IPS display, and weigh 1.55 kg.
    – Pricing starts at £999 in the UK and ranges from €1,049 to €1,119 in the Eurozone.

    New Acer Aspire 16 Models Quietly Released

    Acer has now released new versions of the Aspire 16 in Europe. In January 2026, the company claimed that it would be updating the Aspire 16 to AMD’s Ryzen AI 400 platform. Also, Acer announced Intel Panther Lake alternatives, full details of which we covered during CES 2026, but these are not yet avalible.

    Current Availble Configurations

    Currently, none of these new models are available. Instead, Acer has quietly released Krackan Point and Krackan Point 2 models featuring Zen 5 and Zen 5c CPU cores. Specifically, the Aspire 16 can be purchased with the Ryzen AI 5 330 or Ryzen AI 7 345 featuring 4 and 6 CPU cores, respectively. Priceing and spec varys by region.

    Processor and Graphics Performance

    Also, our benchmarks show that the Ryzen AI 5 330 contains a vastly inferior iGPU compared to the Radeon 840M inside the Ryzen AI 7 345. In fact, the Radeon 820M is outperformed by the Adreno X1-45 that underpins the older Snapdragon X X1P-26-100 based Aspire 16 (curr. $689 on Amazon). Nonetheless, only €100 separates the two processors in the Eurozone. It is a significant gap in graphical power.

    Pricing and Specifications

    At the time of writing, the new Aspire 16 starts at £999 in the UK, with 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, 512 GB of PCIe Gen 4 storage and a 120 Hz IPS display that resolves at 1200p. Meanwhile, the same configuration costs between €1,049 and €1,119 in the Eurozone, with a further €100 charged for the Ryzen AI 7 345 model. For reference, both variants weigh 1.55 kg, measure 354.9 x 250.1 x 15.9 mm and are rated for up to 14.5 hours of battery life. Please see Acer’s website for more details.

    Further Info

    Acer France (1) (2), Acer Spain (1) (2) & Acer UK. These links provide additional details for local customers. Its recomended to check there for final prices and avalibility.


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  • Pay for Ryzen 7, Get Less Than Ryzen 5 in AMD Marketing Spin

    Pay for Ryzen 7, Get Less Than Ryzen 5 in AMD Marketing Spin

    Key Takeaway

    – Ryzen AI 7 345 laptops are priced higher than Ryzen AI 5 340 counterparts, despite the 7 model being slower in core configuration and overall performance.
    – The 345’s core count is effectively two large Zen 5 cores plus an underclocked Zen 5c core, with a 200 MHz lower boost clock, reducing CPU performance versus the 5 340.
    – AMD has halved the L3 cache and removed two PCIe 4.0 lanes (out of 16), contributing to the performance disadvantage.
    – The Radeon 840M GPU remains the same in both chips but with only four compute units, making it unsuitable for most gaming.
    – Overall, the Ryzen AI 7 345 offers less performance than expected in its tier, while being more expensive.

    The initial preorders for the new AMD Ryzen AI 7 345 equipped laptops have begun in Europe, and a quick glance at the price comparison site Geizhals confirms this. The most affordable notebook with this processor is listed at €999, indicating that systems sporting Ryzen AI 7 345 are notably pricier than those built around Ryzen AI 5 340, such as the HP OmniBook 3 which can be found around $590 on certain retailers.

    Pricing contrasts and expectations

    Interestingly, consumers may assume the 7-series would outpace the 5-series, yet the Ryzen AI 7 345 actually trails the Ryzen AI 5 340 in overall performance. The core reason given is that the newest Ryzen design name is a bit deceptive, since the chip features only two full Zen 5 cores rather than three, and those two cores run at a boost clock that sits about 200 MHz lower. An extra Zen 5c core exists, but it operates at even lower frequencies, which could translate to slightly reduced CPU performance relative to the Ryzen AI 5 340.

    Hardware specifics and gaming implications

    On the memory and I/O front, AMD has trimmed the L3 cache by half when compared with the Ryzen AI 5 340, and two PCIe 4.0 lanes have been removed from the mix. The Radeon 840M GPU design remains the same on both chips, yet with only four compute units, it tends to be too slow for many modern games. When looking at the Ryzen AI 7 350 as a reference point, the newest Ryzen AI 7 appears considerably slower than what one might expect from a top-tier member of this family.

    In sum, the price-to-performance relationship for the Ryzen AI 7 345 seems misaligned at present, with higher costs not clearly rewarded by stronger performance in typical workloads. Prospective buyers might weigh these dynamics carefully, especially if gaming or heavy multitasking is a primary concern, and compare closely against Ryzen AI 5 340 options before committing to a purchase.

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