Laptop Mag recently examined AMD’s claims about the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chipset’s performance, particularly in the AI arena. While the initial benchmark pitted the Ryzen AI Max+ in the Asus ROG Flow Z13 (2025) against Intel’s Core Ultra 7 258V in the Asus Zenbook S14 (UX5406), the comparison was incomplete, omitting a critical player: Apple. To offer a more comprehensive evaluation, we expanded our testing to include Apple’s M4 Pro.
Rather than relying solely on AMD’s internal benchmarks, which used a “tokens per second” metric to assess performance in various Large Language Model (LLM) and Small Language Model (SLM) AI frameworks, we conducted our own tests. As expected, the Ryzen AI Max+ 395, with its more robust GPU tile, outperformed Intel’s Lunar Lake chipset. However, the true value lies in comparing AMD’s offering to the Apple M4 Pro, which represents a significant competitor in the high-performance laptop market.
AMD’s benchmarks, titled “Most Powerful x86 processor for LLMs,” are technically correct. But the Ryzen AI Max+ isn’t a standard mobile CPU; its design is closer to Apple’s Arm-based M4 Max or M3 Ultra. While the initial testing focused on an x86 vs. x86 comparison, a more relevant contest pits x86 against Arm, specifically comparing the Ryzen AI Max with the M4 Pro.
While benchmarks for the M4 Max and M3 Ultra are not yet available, Laptop Mag has testing results from the MacBook Pro 16 with the M4 Pro chipset. For a proper chip comparison the HP ZBook 14 Ultra would have been an ideal test for facing off with the MacBook Pro 16, but since we haven’t been able to test the ZBook 14 Ultra G1a yet, the Flow Z13 was used in its place.
Our analysis included the Asus Zenbook S14 (Intel Core Ultra 7 258V) to validate AMD’s claims. Unsurprisingly, the Zenbook S14 lagged behind the AMD and Apple powerhouses.
Based on Geekbench AI benchmarks, the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 in the ROG Flow Z13 offers strong gaming performance, but the M4 Pro holds its own when it comes to GPU-bound AI performance.
Benchmark Results:
While the Geekbench AI benchmark has its limitations, it provides a cross-platform comparison of CPUs and GPUs, unlike AMD’s “Tokens per second.” The results show that the Apple MacBook Pro 16 offers solid competition to the ROG Flow Z13 in our benchmarks, it doesn’t mean the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 isn’t a massively powerful chipset. It’s a heavy-hitting, multi-purpose chip that we’ve seen crush creative and gaming performance. It’s a new take on the x86 processor design. And it was our Best-in-Show winner for CES 2025 for good reason.
We’re greatly anticipating upcoming opportunities to test the PRO-version in the HP ZBook 14 Ultra and would love to see AMD put the Ryzen AI Max in more systems for better competitive benchmarks. Apple Silicon can always use stronger competition.
