AMD Ryzen 9 7900 vs AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 Comparison
AMD Ryzen 9 7900
Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370
PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS
Analysis: AMD Ryzen 9 7900 vs AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370
The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 both offer 12 cores and 24 threads, yet they serve fundamentally different roles. The HX PRO 370 is a mobile processor for thin-and-light laptops, while the 7900 is a desktop chip built for sustained performance. The benchmark data shows a clear split: the Ryzen 9 7900 dominates nearly every workload, winning 14 of 15 head-to-head tests, while the HX PRO 370 manages a single narrow victory in one single-core test. This comparison walks through the data to show where each chip excels, what their architectural differences mean, and which one the numbers say you should choose.
Where Each One Wins
The Ryzen 9 7900 is the overwhelming winner in all multi-threaded and most single-threaded tasks. In Cinebench R23 multi-core, the 7900 scores 24,776 against the HX PRO 370’s 18,520, a 25.3% advantage. That gap widens in PassMark’s data compression test, where the 7900 scores 577,847 versus 403,113, a 30.2% lead. The desktop chip also wins in integer math, floating-point math, encryption, and extended instructions by margins between 25% and 40.1%. For rendering, scientific computing, or any workload that scales across cores, the data is unambiguous: the Ryzen 9 7900 is substantially faster.
The Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370’s sole victory comes in Cinebench R23 single-core, where it scores 1,992 against the 7900’s 1,966, a 1.3% edge. This is a narrow win, but it signals that the mobile chip’s Zen 5 architecture is competitive in lightly-threaded tasks. In PassMark single-thread, the 7900 still wins at 4,130 versus 4,003, a 3.1% margin. So the HX PRO 370 is not a single-core champion; it simply edges out the 7900 in one specific Cinebench test. Its real strength is efficiency, not raw performance, since it achieves these scores within a 28W TDP budget.
Architecture Differences
The two chips come from different generations and use different process nodes. The Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 is built on a 4 nm process at TSMC, using the Zen 5 architecture with the codename “Strix Point.” The Ryzen 9 7900 is on a 5 nm process, also from TSMC, but uses the older Zen 4 architecture under the codename “Raphael.” The transistor counts reflect this: the 7900 packs 13,140 million transistors across two dies, each 71 mm², while the HX PRO 370 uses a single 233 mm² die with no transistor count listed.
Cache configurations differ dramatically. The HX PRO 370 has 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and only 16 MB of L3 cache. The Ryzen 9 7900 has 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, but a massive 64 MB of shared L3 cache. That 48 MB difference in L3 is a major reason the 7900 wins in data-heavy workloads like compression and encryption, where larger caches reduce memory access delays.
Memory support also diverges. The HX PRO 370 supports both DDR5 and LPDDR5X with dual-channel memory and a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. The 7900 supports only DDR5, also dual-channel, but with a slightly lower bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. Both support ECC memory. PCIe connectivity differs as well: the HX PRO 370 offers Gen 4 with 16 lanes, while the 7900 provides Gen 5 with 24 lanes, giving the desktop chip more headroom for graphics cards and storage.
The Verdict
The data points to one clear conclusion for performance-focused builders: the Ryzen 9 7900 is the better processor for almost any compute-intensive task. It wins in Cinebench R15 multi-core by 20.9% and in Cinebench R23 multi-core by 25.3%. In PassMark’s multi-thread test, it leads by 31%. The 7900 also wins in every single-head-to-head PassMark test except one, including a 3.1% lead in single-thread performance. Its 64 MB of L3 cache and 5.4 GHz boost clock give it a decisive edge in both multithreaded and lightly-threaded workloads.
The Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 is not without merit, but its strengths lie outside raw benchmark scores. It is a mobile chip with a 28W TDP, versus the 7900’s 65W TDP, making it suitable for laptops where power draw and cooling are limited. Its single Cinebench R23 single-core win shows the Zen 5 architecture is efficient per watt. For users who need a desktop processor for rendering, compiling, or heavy multitasking, the 7900’s 14 out of 15 head-to-head wins make it the obvious choice. For a mobile user who prioritizes battery life and portability, the HX PRO 370 makes sense, but the data says it will trade significant performance for that mobility.
FAQ
Q: Which processor has a higher boost clock?
A: The Ryzen 9 7900 has a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, while the Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 boosts to 5.10 GHz.
Q: How much larger is the L3 cache on the Ryzen 9 7900?
A: The Ryzen 9 7900 has 64 MB of shared L3 cache, compared to only 16 MB on the Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370.
Q: What is the TDP difference between the two chips?
A: The Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 has a TDP of 28W, while the Ryzen 9 7900 has a TDP of 65W.
Q: In which benchmark does the Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 beat the Ryzen 9 7900?
A: The only head-to-head win for the HX PRO 370 is Cinebench R23 single-core, where it scores 1,992 versus 1,966, a 1.3% advantage.
Q: Which processor supports LPDDR5X memory?
A: Only the Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 supports LPDDR5X, in addition to DDR5; the Ryzen 9 7900 supports DDR5 only.
Q: What is the market segment for each processor?
A: The Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 is a mobile processor, while the Ryzen 9 7900 is a desktop processor.
Head-to-Head Benchmarks
The largest single victory for the Ryzen 9 7900 comes in PassMark’s find prime numbers test, where it scores 380 against the HX PRO 370’s 131, a 65.5% lead. This test is highly sensitive to clock speed and integer performance, and the 7900’s higher base clock of 3.70 GHz versus 2.00 GHz gives it a massive advantage. Similarly, the 7900 wins data encryption by 40.1% (34,708 versus 20,788) and physics by 38.1% (3,059 versus 1,892), both of which benefit from the desktop chip’s higher sustained power envelope.
In Cinebench R23 multi-core, the 7900’s score of 24,776 versus 18,520 represents a 25.3% lead, which is notable because this test scales well across cores. Both chips have 12 cores and 24 threads, so the difference comes from the 7900’s higher clocks (base 3.70 GHz, boost 5.40 GHz) and larger L3 cache. The 7900 also wins Cinebench R15 multi-core by 20.9% (4,020 versus 3,178), confirming a consistent multi-threaded advantage.
The Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370’s only win is Cinebench R23 single-core, where it scores 1,992 versus 1,966, a 1.3% margin. This is a close result, and the 7900 wins the equivalent PassMark single-thread test by 3.1% (4,130 versus 4,003). In extended instructions, the 7900 leads by 33.3% (42,253 versus 28,165), and in floating-point math by 25% (97,943 versus 73,493). The 7900’s wins in random string sorting (36.1%) and integer math (26.9%) further solidify its position as the superior performer across the board.
Specification Differences
The two processors differ in nearly every core specification. The Ryzen 9 7900 has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, while the Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 has a base clock of 2.00 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The TDP is 65W for the 7900 versus 28W for the HX PRO 370. The 7900 uses an AMD Socket AM5, while the HX PRO 370 uses an AMD Socket FP8.
Architecture and process node separate them further: the 7900 is Zen 4 on a 5 nm node, while the HX PRO 370 is Zen 5 on a 4 nm node. The 7900 has 13,140 million transistors across two 71 mm² dies; the HX PRO 370 has a single 233 mm² die. L1 cache is 64 KB per core on the 7900 and 80 KB per core on the HX PRO 370; L2 is 1 MB per core on both. L3 cache is 64 MB shared on the 7900 versus 16 MB on the HX PRO 370.
Memory support differs: the 7900 supports DDR5 only, while the HX PRO 370 supports DDR5 and LPDDR5X. Memory bandwidth is 83.2 GB/s on the 7900 versus 89.6 GB/s on the HX PRO 370. PCIe lanes also differ, with the 7900 offering Gen 5 with 24 lanes and the HX PRO 370 offering Gen 4 with 16 lanes. The 7900 has an unlocked multiplier, while the HX PRO 370 is locked. The integrated graphics are Radeon Graphics on the 7900 and Radeon 890M on the HX PRO 370. The 7900 has a launch MSRP of $429.