AMD Zen 5 HX 'Fire Range' APUs use FL1 package, RTX 50 GPU laptops with Ryzen chips coming

AMD's next-generation Zen 5-based "HX" laptop "Fire Range" CPUs will arrive on the same FL1 package, meaning that laptop makers won't have to redesign motherboards from current "Dragon Range" systems.

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We first learned about AMD's new Zen 5-based "Fire Range" CPU in leaks from Moore's Law is Dead back in October 2023. But In a new post by hardware reviewer and leaker "Golden Pig Upgrade" we're hearing that next-gen Ryzen HX mobile processors based on the Zen 5 architecture codenamed "Fire Range" will use the same FP1 socket as the Zen 4-based "Dragon Range" CPUs we have now. This includes up to the flagship Ryzen 9 7945HX3D processor with the Zen 4 architecture and X3D V-Cache technology.

AMD using the same FL1 package with its new Fire Range processors as its Dragon Range processors is a great thing for laptop manufacturers, as they won't need to redesign the motherboard. However, CPU competitor Intel is changing things up from its 14th Gen Core CPUs and its new Core Ultra 200 CPUs which forces laptop manufacturers to redesign their laptop motherboards.

Golden Pig Upgrade says that on the other hand, for upcoming GeForce RTX 50 series gaming laptops, manufacturers using Intel CPUs and new RTX 50 series GPUs will need to design a new motherboard for backwards compatibility as the 14th Gen Core and Core Ultra 200 aren't compatible.

• Read more: AMD's next-gen Strix Halo, Strix Point, Kraken Point APUs have 3x AI performance boost in 2025
• Read more: AMD's new Ryzen 7940HX 'Dragon Range' CPU tested inside of ASUS TUF Gaming laptop
• Read more: AMD's upcoming Zen 5-based 'Strix Halo' APU benched: clocks in at 5.36GHz

But, AMD still faces challenges with models below the Ryzen 9 lacking competitiveness, with the leaker saying (and he's right) that it "might be a good idea to consider a Zen 4 7745HX3D with 50-series".

Intel has its new Core Ultra 100 series "Meteor Lake" CPUs on the market, but they're not used widely in high-end gaming laptops, which is still dominated by the Core i9-14900HX processor made for high-performance laptops.

AMD has an opportunity here to scoop up a good chunk of the high-performance and gaming laptops with its new Zen 5-based "Fire Range" processors, especially when mixed with NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 50 Laptop series GPUs... all clawed away from Intel. Where it can't win the GPU battle, it can definitely take some of the high-perf and gaming laptop market shares.