• 2 min read
New laptops, old chips: why buyers are getting misled
PCWorld says laptop makers are selling older CPU designs as new, with AMD facing the sharpest criticism for rebranded Ryzen mobile chips.
Image: PCWorld
Laptop buyers are being asked to pay new-machine prices for processors based on years-old designs. That’s the problem PCWorld’s Mark Hachman highlights: not that older silicon is still being used, but that it’s being marketed in ways that make it hard for shoppers to tell what they’re actually getting.
Hachman argues the confusion is now built into laptop CPU branding. He points to AMD as the clearest example. The company’s Ryzen 8000 mobile processors, launched in December 2023, were described by AMD at the time as “architecturally aligned” with the Ryzen 7000 chips introduced 12 months earlier. Then, in early 2025, AMD renamed those chips as the Ryzen 200 lineup.
One example he cites is the Ryzen 5 7640HS, launched on April 30, 2023, and the Ryzen 9 270: both use the same Zen 4 architecture. In 2026, AMD then launched seven more “new” Ryzen 200 parts, from the Ryzen 3 205 to the Ryzen 7 253—again based on Zen 4, an architecture AMD launched in January 2023. Hachman also notes reporting from TweakTown that AMD added four new Ryzen 100 chips using Zen 3+ “Rembrandt” designs dating back to 2022.
Intel comes in for criticism too, but Hachman says it has been more explicit when reviving older parts, using names such as “Raptor Lake Refresh” and “Arrow Lake Refresh.”
The pricing gap is where the branding becomes more than a naming annoyance. Hachman says Lenovo ThinkPads with a Ryzen 250 were listed between $900 and $1,000. He contrasts that with the $600 Dell XPS 13 and Apple MacBook Neo, which he says use more modern chip designs despite lower prices. He also takes aim at Lenovo’s language around “AI experiences” and NPUs, noting that these systems offer just 16 TOPS.
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The broader point is simple: modern laptops may have better displays, lighter designs, and improved portability, but the processor name—once supposed to clarify where a device stands—now often hides how old the underlying chip really is.
Computing Editor
Tomas lives in the terminal. He covers chips, laptops, and operating systems with a focus on performance and efficiency. He reads kernel changelogs the way other people read fiction, and he's always on the hunt for the perfect mechanical keyboard switch. If it processes data, Tomas has an opinion on it.
via PCWorld
