AMD's Unveiled of two chips to its Ryzen Z2 family, tailored for mobile gaming machines we adore. These are not negligible improvements. For the budget seeker, there are offerings as well as options for the true seeker of cutting-edge AI.
For those who wanted to increase their handheld's IQ score, AMD is bringing in the "Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme." As it sounds, this great processor will bring in dedicated artificial intelligence processing to your palm. It is indeed the powerful Ryzen Z2 Extreme, which we heard about, but has an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) baked in. This chunk is a big deal, making it install AMD's first custom Ryzen for handhelds that can really flex their AI muscles with promises of up to 50 AI TOPs (Trillions of Operations Per Second).
Under the hood, the AI Z2 Extreme is built off of AMD's latest Zen 5 architecture, featuring 8 CPU cores with 16 threads. It further consists of a total of 16 RDNA 3.5-based GPU cores supplied for graphics. While AMD has not thrown specific numbers about performance yet, this GPU setup is supposed to have a similar league as that of their Radeon 890M integrated graphics.
On the other end of the spectrum, there is also available "Ryzen Z2 A," which is more for low-budget handheld features. This chip features an RDNA 2-based architecture with 8 GPU cores as its built-in graphics consists. This does not mean that it's geared towards ultra-high settings for the latest AAA titles, as entry-level handhelds are expected to deliver gaming experiences that are solid and enjoyable.
Interestingly, the Ryzen Z2 A also steps back to the older, yet reliable, Zen 2 CPU architecture. It features 4 cores and 8 threads, putting its CPU capabilities in a similar ballpark to the custom Ryzen APU found in the Steam Deck. This focus on Zen 2 also hints at excellent power efficiency, with the chip expected to operate in a very modest 6 to 20W TDP range. That's great news for battery life.
As for power, this Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme and other high-end Ryzen Z2 models will all fall into the TDP range of 15-30 W. These more powerful chips will also support faster memory, with speeds up to 8000 MT/s - a nice bump compared with the common Ryzen Z2 and a significant leap compared with the Ryzen Z2 Go.
With these new APUs hitting the market, we should be on the lookout for updates to existing handhelds that used the older Ryzen Z1 series. Clearly, AMD is in this to offer a broader range of processing power for an exploding handheld gaming market that is made up of nearly everyone and every budget.
