AMD Ryzen Z2 (Extreme & Go): APUs for gaming handhelds, but not for the Steam Deck 2

AMD Ryzen Z2 (Extreme & Go): APUs for gaming handhelds, but not for Steam Deck 2 23 comments

Image: AMD

The Valve Steam Deck created a new market: PC gaming handhelds. With three new, partly faster Ryzen Z2 (Extreme), AMD is offering new APUs in an even wider performance and price range for this market, which continues to grow explosively. There are also surprises.

Summary :

AMD Ryzen Z2 is a “lucky bag”

The new AMD Ryzen Z2 (Extreme) are a real surprise bag and ultimately only have the name in common, but the technical basis is very different for the three chips. It may also be partly a rebranding of the predecessor Ryzen Z1 (Extreme).

AMD Ryzen Z2 in a rough preview (Image: AMD)

Big differences in the GPU

The difference between the three new processors is clearly visible at the graphics unit level, as AMD only revealed when asked:

The AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme uses 16 CU RDNA 3.5, which is currently the best expansion currently available in the mobile segment. The AMD Ryzen Z2 relies on a reduced number of 12 CUs of the RDNA 3 architecture level (reference 12 CU RDNA 3 versus 16 CU RDNA 3.5). And the AMD Ryzen Z2 Go has 12 more CUs, but they are now only based on RDNA-2.

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme: 16 CU RDNA 3.5AMD Ryzen Z2: 12 CU RDNA 3AMD Ryzen Z2 Go: 12 CU RDNA 2

CPU cores also differ

The AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme leading the pack is a new chip. Here, three big Zen cores are combined with five Zen c cores, but AMD did not explain in advance which generation they belong to. However, coupling with the RDNA 3.5 graphics unit and this basic structure is very similar to the Strix Point/Krackan Point solution, then the architecture level would be Zen 5/Zen 5c.

The AMD Ryzen Z2 matches an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme in terms of specs, so it’s Hawk Point with Zen 4 at heart. There were also eight cores, a total of 24 MB of cache, and RDNA 3 graphics with 12 CUs, although the clock speeds are almost identical. As this has only been used by a few partners so far (e.g. Zotac Zone), renaming it to bread and butter chips should now attract more customers.

The AMD Ryzen Z2 Go remains a bit of a mystery. The quad-core chip offers only 10 MB of combined cache (L2+L3), plus 12 CU of an RDNA 2 graphics unit. The obvious choice would be a sterilized Rembrandt APU, i.e. Zen 3+ with RDNA 2. Clock speeds of up to just 4.3 GHz are also what was common in 2022 when the chip was unveiled.

Asked about these hypotheses, AMD confirmed them shortly before the embargo fell:

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme: Strix Point – 3×Zen 5 + 5×Zen 5c, 16 CU RDNA 3.5AMD Ryzen Z2: Hawk Point – 8×Zen 4, 12 CU RDNA 3AMD Ryzen Z2 Go: Rembrandt – 4×Zen 3+, 12 CU RDNA 2

AMD names Valve as customer

AMD promises the solutions will enable “hours of battery life” and “fantastic graphics.” AMD names three partners by name when referring to the rapidly growing market they will address with the Z2: Lenovo with the Legion Go, Asus with the Ally, and Valve’s Steam Deck. During the press briefing, AMD explicitly stated “you see this (Ryzen Z2, editor’s note) coming to market from a number of partners” in reference to this slide.

AMD Ryzen Z2 from Lenovo, Asus and for Valve’s new SteamDeck (Image: AMD)

The fact that the chip is also present in the Steam Deck 2 was directly denied by a Valve employee before the announcement, when the first leaked press material made the rounds.

One explanation for this discrepancy would be that AMD only used the three chosen partners and products purely symbolically for the PC gaming handheld market. Another reason is that Valve doesn’t have a standard Z2, but rather a next-gen “custom chip” – but that’s been lumped into this presentation.

Techtip received information about this item from AMD under NDA. The only requirement was the earliest possible publication date.

Topics: AMD CES 2025 Ryzen Steam Deck Gaming Processors