As CES 2025 approaches, AMD is set to unveil the Ryzen Z2 series, including the Z2 Extreme APU, featuring a hybrid architecture with advanced Zen 5 cores and RDNA 3.5 units, promising significant performance gains. The Strix Halo APU targets high-performance laptops, while the Fire Range series introduces CPUs with substantial cache for enhanced gaming experiences. AMD’s new offerings are expected to elevate portable gaming technology and deliver remarkable performance for upcoming AAA titles.
As we gear up for CES 2025, Nvidia may dominate the conversation, but AMD is also set to make waves with some exciting announcements.
Introducing Ryzen Z2: A New Era of Modular Power
The much-anticipated successor to the Z1 has finally arrived! AMD unveils the Ryzen Z2 series, signaling a significant advancement in their portable gaming technology.
At the forefront is the Z2 Extreme APU, boasting an innovative hybrid architecture grounded in Strix Point. This powerful setup combines three high-performance Zen 5 cores with five energy-efficient Zen 5c cores—an unprecedented move for AMD in the portable segment. Plus, it comes equipped with 16 RDNA 3.5 compute units, making it roughly on par with the Ryzen 7 8840U.
The new architecture introduces several enhancements. The 4nm Zen 5 cores provide a notable boost in IPC (Instructions Per Cycle) over the previous Zen 4 generation, while the Zen 5c cores are designed to optimize power consumption during lighter tasks. Notably, the absence of an NPU is a strategic choice aimed at maximizing gaming performance.
With the leap from Z1 Extreme to Z2 Extreme, you can expect an impressive up to 15% increase in IPC and 20% improvement in GPU performance. This enhancement is poised to elevate your gaming experience for the AAA titles coming in 2025.
AMD is launching three versions: the Ryzen Z2, Z2 Go, and Z2 Extreme. The Z2 Go is tailored specifically for the Lenovo Go S, featuring just 4 Zen 3+ cores and 12 RDNA 2 cores, designed to deliver the most affordable portable console option available.
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Stay tuned for Valve’s updates about the Steam Deck 2.
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Where can you find the Z2? Expect to see it in devices from Lenovo and Asus, but the Steam Deck will not be integrating the Ryzen Z2, as Valve has confirmed.
The Strix Halo APU: Redefining Performance
The Strix Halo architecture, launched under the Ryzen AI MAX branding, is crafted for high-performance laptops tailored for creatives and gamers alike.
The premium model features 16 Zen 5 cores and 40 RDNA 3.5 compute units, marking it as the most powerful APU ever created by AMD for consumer use. With its robust integrated graphics capabilities, it offers performance that rivals entry-level dedicated graphics cards.
Adding to the appeal is the XDNA2 processor, which delivers a remarkable 50 TOPS, enhancing the functionality of these APUs. The flexible TDP range (45-120W) enables manufacturers to optimize performance based on their thermal requirements.
The high-end model boasts a total system cache of 80 MB, which plays a vital role in boosting performance for data-intensive applications.
With four APU references in total, all promising up to 50 TOPS for AI, the Ryzen AI MAX name perfectly encapsulates its capabilities.
Fire Range: Elevating Cache Performance
Moving on to the CPUs tailored for high-end gaming laptops, AMD presents the Fire Range series (Ryzen 9000HX), which brings forth numerous technical innovations.
The standout model, Ryzen 9 9955HX3D, features 16 Zen 5 cores along with an astonishing 3D cache of 144 MB. This cache, the largest ever seen in a mobile processor, is set to dramatically enhance gaming performance, especially in titles sensitive to memory latency.
The Fire Range architecture maintains impressive boost frequencies (up to 5.4 GHz) despite the integration of 3D cache, which typically constrains frequencies. This impressive achievement hints at advancements in thermal management for stacked 3D cache. The simplified range—featuring only three models (16, 12, and 8 cores)—aims to streamline AMD’s offerings while ensuring distinct technical differences among the SKUs.
Stay tuned for more updates in the upcoming hours as we delve deeper into offerings from partners like Lenovo, Asus, Acer, and Dell.