AMD Putting FreeSync Technology Into HP Laptops

News
By Derek Forrest
published

AMD announced that HP will be releasing two new Envy 15z laptops that will feature the company’s FreeSync technology. HP also intends to enable FreeSync support across its entire lineup of AMD 6th generation A-Series processor-powered laptops later this year.

FreeSync is AMD’s variable refresh rate technology. FreeSync-enabled displays and GPUs (or in this case, APUs) improve the communication between the monitor and processor, offering a smoother user experience at lower frame rates by matching the display’s refresh rate to the GPU’s output, reducing stutters and tearing.

Full specifications of the two new HP Envy 15z laptops are not available yet, but the announcement that HP would be extending FreeSync support to its entire lineup of 6th generation AMD A-Series processor-equipped laptops seems to indicate an increased presence in the mobility market from AMD.

Derek Forrest is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware and Tom’s IT Pro. Follow Derek Forrest on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.

Derek Forrest
Derek Forrest
Derek Forrest is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He writes hardware news and reviews gaming desktops and laptops.
33 Comments Comment from the forums
  • hst101rox
    I hope the clockspeed of the new CPUs are decent! AMD's laptop chips are weak. Make some 45W and 57W TDP laptop chips, AMD! 35w is not enough to compete against Intel, it's not better than maybe a 2.2GHZ Skylake i3 i would guesstimate.
    Reply
  • heffeque
    The problem is that most companies cripple the laptops that have AMD APUs by using single channel RAM, by putting crappy screens, by putting small batteries...

    AMD Carrizo (not Carrizo-L) APUs are quite good, but laptop companies need to seriously stop crippling them.
    Reply
  • quilciri
    I'd like to see freesync in VR displays.
    Reply
  • silverblue
    It's not a question of not releasing 35W APUs, but those that have been locked down to 15W.
    Reply
  • thor220
    I hope the clockspeed of the new CPUs are decent! AMD's laptop chips are weak. Make some 45W and 57W TDP laptop chips, AMD! 35w is not enough to compete against Intel, it's not better than maybe a 2.2GHZ Skylake i3 i would guesstimate.
    I hope the clockspeed of the new CPUs are decent! AMD's laptop chips are weak. Make some 45W and 57W TDP laptop chips, AMD! 35w is not enough to compete against Intel, it's not better than maybe a 2.2GHZ Skylake i3 i would guesstimate.

    Free-Sync only requires an AMD GPU. These laptops could very well use Intel processors.
    Reply
  • mitch074
    Benchmarks made on AMD A12-8800B show them to be VERY capable - when running at 35W with dual channel DDR3 2100. However, when crippled with a 15W envelope and single channel DDR3-1600, they sure don't look as appealing...

    The CPU part was never anything to write home about, although it does compare favourably to those dual-core HT-enabled processors Intel sales as mobile chips (several productivity tasks do enjoy a real quad core - especially native 64-bit ones when running on Linux)

    Where those chips shine (if provided with enough memory bandwidth), is on games - while playing anything more than Starcraft 2 (at very low details level) on an Intel IGP results in nothing more than a slideshow, you can actually play some games on an AMD!
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    17480102 said:
    The problem is that most companies cripple the laptops that have AMD APUs by using single channel RAM, by putting crappy screens, by putting small batteries...

    AMD Carrizo (not Carrizo-L) APUs are quite good, but laptop companies need to seriously stop crippling them.

    Most lower end laptops come with single channel RAM setup and can be upgraded to use dual channel. Even Intel laptops. Hell our work laptops we got a few years ago all had 4GB single sticks in single channel.

    AMD needs to produce more powerful parts to compete in the high end but is focusing on the low power, low end market.

    17480642 said:
    Benchmarks made on AMD A12-8800B show them to be VERY capable - when running at 35W with dual channel DDR3 2100. However, when crippled with a 15W envelope and single channel DDR3-1600, they sure don't look as appealing...

    The CPU part was never anything to write home about, although it does compare favourably to those dual-core HT-enabled processors Intel sales as mobile chips (several productivity tasks do enjoy a real quad core - especially native 64-bit ones when running on Linux)

    Where those chips shine (if provided with enough memory bandwidth), is on games - while playing anything more than Starcraft 2 (at very low details level) on an Intel IGP results in nothing more than a slideshow, you can actually play some games on an AMD!

    Not sure what era you are living in but Intels current IGPs have become very capable parts. In fact they compete quite well with AMDs offerings.
    Reply
  • amk-aka-Phantom
    The problem is that most companies cripple the laptops that have AMD APUs by using single channel RAM, by putting crappy screens, by putting small batteries...

    AMD Carrizo (not Carrizo-L) APUs are quite good, but laptop companies need to seriously stop crippling them.

    Spot ON! Finally, someone else who understands... I got nothing against recent AMD laptop chips but I cannot recommend laptops with them. Take Asus: they offer great multimedia laptops with their N series. Metal body, IPS screens, SSDs if you pay extra. AMD version gets made, suddenly it's TN, HDD, less RAM and has no better configs even if you want to pay more. GGWP, that will show Intel... AMD has GOT to fix this mess by partnering up with a high-quality vendor (so not HP) to deliver high-tier multimedia machines enthusiasts like us could actually buy or recommend to others. No Zen or another fancy name will help them otherwise.

    AMD needs to produce more powerful parts to compete in the high end but is focusing on the low power, low end market.

    Yeah no, they are FORCED into this market by cowardly laptop vendors who are too chicken to make a prominent product with an AMD inside. See the first half of my comment. RAM is about the only shortcoming of these crippled variants that an average buyer can fix - no one is going to bother changing screens or even messing with storage since most users are just too scared to touch anything that works. It's a dead end for AMD, Intel wrecks them in low-end thanks to 14-22 nm parts and their superior efficiency (you yourself mentioned how good their IGPs got, which is true, I can run Civ5 on 1080p/high on an HD 4400 and it's not bad at all) so until they got 16 nm or whatever out, it's a lost cause. High-end, however...
    Reply
  • jkhoward
    We all know that these laptops will run the chip at 15W, slow hard drive, single channel RAM..... don't even bother. OEM's hate AMD sadly. They have much to offer but no one is giving them the respect they deserve.
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    17480841 said:
    The problem is that most companies cripple the laptops that have AMD APUs by using single channel RAM, by putting crappy screens, by putting small batteries...

    AMD Carrizo (not Carrizo-L) APUs are quite good, but laptop companies need to seriously stop crippling them.

    Spot ON! Finally, someone else who understands... I got nothing against recent AMD laptop chips but I cannot recommend laptops with them. Take Asus: they offer great multimedia laptops with their N series. Metal body, IPS screens, SSDs if you pay extra. AMD version gets made, suddenly it's TN, HDD, less RAM and has no better configs even if you want to pay more. GGWP, that will show Intel... AMD has GOT to fix this mess by partnering up with a high-quality vendor (so not HP) to deliver high-tier multimedia machines enthusiasts like us could actually buy or recommend to others. No Zen or another fancy name will help them otherwise.

    AMD needs to produce more powerful parts to compete in the high end but is focusing on the low power, low end market.

    Yeah no, they are FORCED into this market by cowardly laptop vendors who are too chicken to make a prominent product with an AMD inside. See the first half of my comment. RAM is about the only shortcoming of these crippled variants that an average buyer can fix - no one is going to bother changing screens or even messing with storage since most users are just too scared to touch anything that works. It's a dead end for AMD, Intel wrecks them in low-end thanks to 14-22 nm parts and their superior efficiency (you yourself mentioned how good their IGPs got, which is true, I can run Civ5 on 1080p/high on an HD 4400 and it's not bad at all) so until they got 16 nm or whatever out, it's a lost cause. High-end, however...

    AMD controls what it produces, not the laptop manufactures. AMD has been focusing on the low power mobile sector for quite a while, not saying they don;t perform but that their focus is low power draw/longer battery life.

    Their IGPs are their best part TBH and I feel they get held back by their weaker CPUs.

    17480982 said:
    We all know that these laptops will run the chip at 15W, slow hard drive, single channel RAM..... don't even bother. OEM's hate AMD sadly. They have much to offer but no one is giving them the respect they deserve.

    If the chip is a 15w chip it is a 15w chip as AMD designs it to be that way.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA8S13KD6256

    That looks like a pretty high end AMD based laptop to me. SSD, IPS screen, 16GB of memory (most likely in dual channel) and a dGPU to boot.
    Reply