From your smartphone to your gaming rig, silicon is the silent conductor making all of your computing possible, and the driving force behind modern technology. Laptop Mag's Silicon Survey meets with the minds behind some of tech's most powerful computer chips. However, today's processors target more than Moore's Law. CPU, GPU, and APU designs are only half of the story following the emergence of powerful generative AI software, after all.
Join us as we take a deep dive into the latest trends shaping the next wave of computing and gain insight into how companies like Apple, AMD, Intel, Qualcomm, and ARM see this space evolving over the coming years, and the architecture, engineering, and innovation needed to make it happen.
Welcome to Laptop Mag's Silicon Survey 2025.
The only constant is progress
Opening words from special issue writer, Madeline Ricchiuto
Whether or not Moore’s Law is actually dead, all of our interviewees for this special issue agreed that performance gains will continue long into the future.
But what that means, and how we get there differs by chip maker. Intel’s Robert Hallock tells Laptop Mag, when it comes to hardware performance and efficiency, “You can't go backwards.”
The only constant is progress. (Read more)
“Not everybody has a killer app for AI yet”: Intel’s Robert Hallock opens the company playbook on AI, NPUs, and more
Performance, efficiency, gaming, and AI are all cornerstones of the Intel roadmap
To say 2024 was a rough year for Intel may be an understatement. But, as Intel’s Robert Hallock told Laptop Mag, “You can't go backwards. That's unacceptable.”
Even after various setbacks in the past year — from the beleaguered Arrow Lake desktop launch to speculation about the company’s direction and the resignation of CEO Pat Gelsinger — Hallock, the company’s Vice President and General Manager of Client AI and Technical Marketing, says Intel has no choice but to look forward. (Read more)
Intel in action: Top reviewed Intel laptops
Offering nearly 14 hours of battery life, the Asus Zenbook S 14 (UX5406), powered by Intel's Core Ultra 7 258V is our top pick in the AI PC category and a brilliant overall laptop thanks to a stunning 14-inch, 120Hz, touchscreen OLED display, and impressive performance.
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (Gen 9) blends an impressive Intel Core i9-14900HX processor with a powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU backed by 12GB of VRAM to cement itself as a fantastic gaming laptop when paired with its vivid 16-inch display.
Acer's Swift Go 14 features Intel's Core Ultra 7 155H processor, packaging solid Meteor Lake performance, that leverages a built-in NPU and improved Intel Arc iGPU and a stylish aluminum build with an attractive price tag that those buying on a budget can rely on.
"Boring stuff changes the world": AMD's Jason Banta on what to expect from AI and AMD in the future
Team Red had a clear lead on Intel in 2024, but can AMD maintain the momentum?
“Boring stuff changes the world,” AMD’s Jason Banta, Vice President and General Manager of the Client OEM group, tells Laptop Mag, insisting that what we’ve seen from AI and Microsoft’s Copilot+ suite is only the beginning.
While Microsoft's initial suite of AI tools and features for Windows 11 may seem boring, they're part of a growing snowball effect that could (one day soon) drastically impact the performance and potential we eke out from our hardware and, in turn, the experiences we gain from it. (Read more)
AMD in action: Top reviewed AMD laptops
The Asus Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) is our number-one AMD Ryzen laptop in 2025, offering a solid OLED panel, excellent performance, great gaming, and 11 hours of battery life.
The Razer Blade 14 (Early 2024) is by far the best high-end AMD gaming laptop in 2025. It offers an incredibly sturdy exterior, a colorful display, and phenomenal gaming metrics. It's pricey but worth it.
The Asus ProArt P16 is an outstanding choice for video or photo editors. Its AMD Ryzen performance is bolstered by a discrete Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU. Content creators need to look no further.
There's still more to come
Laptop Mag's Silicon Survey is just getting started. Stick with us throughout the week for exclusive interviews with Apple, Qualcomm, and ARM as we continue to probe the world's biggest chip makers for their thoughts and outlook on the processor landscape going forward.
