AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX (Dragon Range) processor review - Introduction

ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 / 16-core Ryzen 9 7945HX review
ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17: Unleashing the Power of Ryzen 9 7945HX and GeForce RTX 4090

Unleash the beast, chase the dragon, and we can throw in many superlatives into this product series. We dive into the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 2023 model, a laptop with a staggering 16-core Ryzen 9 7945HX processor that's pretty much as fast as the desktop part. Coupled with 32GB DDR5 RAM and the mobile GeForce RTX 4090, this laptop promises outstanding performance. The laptop appears to be crafted from several ambitions, featuring the GeForce RTX 4090, swift NVMe storage, and a proper rapid IPS 240Hz 2560x1440 display. In this review, we primarily focus on the remarkable power of AMD's mobile processor, which keeps pace with its desktop counterparts effortlessly. Asus currently offers two models of the Strix Scar 17: one with an RTX 4090 and another with an RTX 4080. Our review unit was the RTX 4090 configuration, it's worth noting that both graphics cards have access to 175 watts of power (150W for the GPU itself, plus 25W from Dynamic Boost). But what really sets the Scar 17 apart from the competition is the inclusion of AMD's new Ryzen 9 7945HX processor, the company's first 55W processor and the first 16-core mobile processor from Team Red. It also marks the debut of AMD's Ryzen 7000 platform in laptops. This indeed is the much-discussed dragon range series of processors.

The 16-core Zen4 Raphael CPU from AMD's Dragon Range will deliver some really remarkable results. Aside from its impressive processor and graphics card, the Scar 17 comes with 32GB of DDR5 memory with support for up to 64GB if you upgrade it yourself. It also features Wi-Fi 6E (yep, the 6 Ghz band), Bluetooth 5.2, a somewhat mediocre webcam, which apparently is typical of most high-end gaming laptops. This review centers on the processor's performance specifically, however, with a GeForce  RTX 4090 (Mobile GPU) onboard, we'll run some gaming titles as well. The AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX, the top model in the 7045 lineup, competes with Intel's flagship Core i9-13980HX. With 8 'big' cores and 24 threads, the Ryzen 9 7945HX stands out from Intel's hybrid Core design, unsurprisingly outpacing Intel in multi-core tests and positioning itself between desktop processor performance levels. This is a down-tuned 65W Ryzen 7 7950X.

Furthermore, the Ryzen 9 7945HX outperforms its predecessor, the Ryzen 9 6900HX Rembrandt Zen3+ SKU. This CPU series introduces AMD's Zen 4 chiplet architecture, spanning from a six-core Ryzen 5 to the powerful 16-core/32-thread Ryzen 9 7945HX. The processor operates within a 55W to 75W TDP range, which matches its output. The ROG Scar 17 implementation has an official 55W TDP listing.  While Dragon Range chips feature somewhat weaker RDNA 2-based integrated graphics, most configurations will likely include powerful discrete GPUs.