Intel’s 12th generation laptop chips have made a big leap forward and we’ve been waiting for AMD’s response. And now, as tested in the new Zenbook S 13 OLED (UM5302), we have seen this answer – at least in part.
This new Zenbook S 13 includes the Ryzen 7 6800U, part of AMD’s new Ryzen 6000 series of chips packed inside. These are a low-power version designed for thin and light laptops and are based on the company’s Zen 3+ architecture.
This won’t be a full review of the Zenbook S 13 OLED (which comes later), but it will be a solid introduction to these chips. The stakes are high against Intel’s 12th-generation chips, and although we’ll need more data to clarify the comparison, AMD’s new chips are certainly still underway.
Understanding the composition
The Ryzen 7 6800U is an 8-core / 16-threaded chip that runs on 15 watts and can be configured up to 28 watts. This compares to the 8-core / 16-thread Ryzen 7 6800H, which we haven’t tested yet and is a 45-watt part. The Zenbook S 13 OLED is a challenge for any chip, given its slim 0.59-inch chassis – there’s not much room inside for complex thermal designs or large fans. So I was looking forward to seeing the performance of the Ryzen 7 6800U even compared to the processors in some other, larger laptops.
In addition to the Dell XPS 13, the laptops in our comparison group are 14-inch machines or larger. This means that they probably offer more space for better thermals and we should keep this in mind when considering the performance of the Ryzen 7 6800U in the Zenbook S 13 OLED. I chose these laptops because they include the main competition from AMD’s chip and its predecessor, the Ryzen 7 5800U. Therefore, these are the machines that provide the best cross section in our database.
And what is the main competition of the Ryzen 7 6800U? Well, it’s a little confusing. In the past, Intel had a direct comparison in its U-series chips, which also ran at 15 watts. But now the range is divided into three ways: 28-watt P-series chips, 15-watt U-series chips and 9-watt U-series chips.
Without going into all the details, it is fair to compare the Ryzen 7 6800H with the Core i7-1260P. It is a 12-core (four productive and eight efficient), 16-threaded processor running at a base TDP of 28 watts. Intel also has a lower power configuration, such as the Core i7-1260U, which is a 10-core (two performance, eight efficient), 12-threaded version with a base TDP of 9 watts. This is not an honest comparison, of course, and we have not tested it yet.
Performance testing against Intel
Comparing the Ryzen 7 6800U with the Core i7-1260P, we see that it lags far behind the Geekbench 5 in both single-core and multi-core results. In fact, it’s not much faster than some latest-generation chips, including the Ryzen 7 5800U, Core i7-11370H and Core i7-1185G7.
| Geekbench (single / multiple) |
Handbrake (seconds) |
Cinebench R23 (single / multiple) |
PCMark 10 Completed |
3DMark Spy of time |
|
| Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED (Ryzen 7 6800U) |
1,417 / 6,854 | 112 | 1,402 / 8,682 | 5,647 th most common | 2,110 th most common |
| Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 Gen 7 (Core i7-1260P) |
1,717 / 9,231 | 130 | 1,626 / 7,210 | 5760 | 1,658 th most common |
| Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 Gen 7 (Core i7-1260P) – Performance mode |
1,712 / 10,241 | 101 | 1,723 / 8,979 | 5,816 th most common | 1979 |
| Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro (Core i7-1260P) |
1709/9457 | 114 | 1,637 / 8,066 | 5,585 th most common | N / A |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon (Ryzen 7 5800U) |
1,373 / 6,080 | 125 | 1,409 / 8,086 | 5,682 th most common | 1,308 th most common |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro (Core i7-11370H) |
1,578 / 5,957 | 202 | 1,514 / 5,544 | 5,149 th most common | 1888 |
| Dell XPS 13 (Core i7-1185G7) |
1,549 / 5,431 | 204 | 1,399 / 4,585 | n / a | 1380 |
But moving on to our parking brake test, which encodes 420MB of video like H.265, it competes much better with the Core i7-1260P chips, as tested in Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro and Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 Gen 7. Lenovo is faster in performance mode, although this probably has more to do with the laptop itself.
Interestingly, I used the Asus performance tuning utility on the Zenbook S 13 to compare in both balanced and performance modes, and there was little difference between them. The Zenbook Ryzen 7 6800U throttles in performance mode in the Cinebench R23, quickly reaching a maximum CPU temperature of 95 degrees C and reducing performance.
Speaking of Cinebench, the Ryzen 7 6800U was again in line with the Core i7-1260P laptops and 13% faster than the Ryzen 7 5800U in the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon. Of course, it was significantly faster than the previous generation Core i7s, which lacked a high number of cores.
In PCMark 10, all laptops in the comparison group provided similar performance. This benchmark does not put too much pressure on the processor and is typical performance work, which means that the last few generations of processors have been very fast.
Finally, the integrated Radeon Graphics of the Ryzen 7 6800U makes a significant leap from last year’s AMD chips, catching up with the Intel Iris Xe graphics included in these Core i7-1260P machines. In fact, it scored slightly higher in 3DMark. Of course, this is still the chip that will best power entry-level games at low settings.
Battery life
The Zenbook S 13 OLED has a 67-watt battery, which is large for a 13-inch laptop. At the same time it is built around 16:10, 2880 x 1800 OLED touchscreen display that is thirsty for energy. So it is always a challenge to compare the specific impact of the CPU on battery life with so many other factors.
In our web browsing test, which runs through a series of popular and sophisticated websites, the Zenbook S 13 OLED lasted just over eight hours. This is behind the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 Gen 7 and Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon, both with 14-inch high-resolution IPS displays. Honestly, I expected the Zenbook to last longer in this test. Then, in our video test, which includes a local trailer for a 1080p movie, the Zenbook managed to last about 13.5 hours. Both are decent results, but I have nothing to write about.
Although we cannot compare the performance of the processor with these indicators, we can at least conclude that the Ryzen 7 6800U does not stand out in its efficiency. And this is no surprise, considering that it can withstand as much power as the Core i7-1260P at its upper end.
| Internet browsing test | Video test | |
| Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED (Ryzen 7 6800U) |
8 hours, 4 minutes | 13 hours, 13 minutes |
| Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 Gen 7 (Core i7-1260P) |
9 hours, 10 minutes | 12 hours, 45 minutes |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon (Ryzen 7 5800U) |
10 hours, 6 minutes | 11 hours, 12 minutes |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro (Core i7-11370H) |
7 hours, 43 minutes | 12 hours, 46 minutes |
| Dell XPS 13 (Core i7-1185G7) |
6 hours 20 minutes | 10 hours, 32 minutes |
Much more to discover
After all, we still can’t say anything definite about the Ryzen 7 6800U from these brief tests in the Zenbook S 13 OLED. However, it is obviously a powerful chip for compact laptops and certainly feels competitive with Intel’s latest offerings.
We will have to see it work in larger laptops with more thermal space to make accurate conclusions. But the initial impression is that the Ryzen 7 6800U competes well with Intel’s Core i7-1260P, retaining AMD’s place as a viable performance alternative against Intel’s latest version.
Recommendations of the editors
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/amd-ryzen-6000-tested-in-new-zenbook-against-intels-best/
