AMD Declares x86 Has Caught Up to ARM in Efficiency and Performance
The confidence in the x86 architecture runs deep. AMD has now gone so far as to say that in some important areas, such as in the energy efficiency of capabilities, its recent developments can actually compete with ARM. In discussions the company had during IFA 2025, it claimed AMD and Intel had delivered excellent x86 solutions, backed even by the hype surrounding ''Windows on ARM,'' rather quickly.
The End of the x86 Efficiency Myth
AMD claims that the age-old assumption that x86 processors could never be as efficient as ARM is no more. In its opinion, modern AMD Ryzen and Intel Core processors do provide extremely long battery life in notebooks, and this, with the easy access to the entire x86 software ecosystem, makes ARM-based solutions suddenly much less attractive on Windows.
How x86 Responded to ARM's Challenge
The pressure from ARM, because of Apple on the back of its M-series chips and Qualcomm on that of its Snapdragon X Elite, called for a strong rebuttal from Intel and AMD. They moved swiftly into the mobile front, aggressively promoting their offerings, especially in the APU domain.
- Intel's Lunar Lake processors saw tremendous advances in NPU capabilities and power efficiency.
- AMD's Strix Point and Strix Halo APUs crushed it regarding performance per watt, hence are the de facto standard within laptops, mini-PCs, and handhelds.
Leading in On-Device AI Performance
AI processing is where x86 has really flexed its muscle again. AMD's top-end Ryzen 9 AI MAX 395 + boasts 126 total TOPS (Trillions of Operations Per Second), which is far higher than any current ARM solution, deflating the narrative that ARM had the advantage in AI on Windows.
The Road Ahead for x86
Of course, this does not foretell an end for ARM, but in AMD's view, the x86 architecture is now well-endowed for ongoing dominance over the consumer sector. The future will afford even more muscle to x86 competitiveness from the future product lines: Panther Lake from Intel and Medusa Point from AMD.
