The rise of portable console PCs, notably propelled by the Steam Deck, highlights AMD’s crucial role through its APU innovations. The newly launched Z2 family—comprising the Z2, Z2 Extreme, and Z2 Go—offers improved specifications but modest performance gains. The focus shifts toward enhancing battery life rather than significant upgrades, aiming to attract new users and diversify options in the market. Anticipation builds for further developments at CES 2025.
The Rise of Portable Console PCs: A Look Back
The Steam Deck may not have originated the “portable console PCs” market, but it undeniably brought significant attention to it. Industry enthusiasts might point to GPD, which pioneered compact PCs tailored for gaming, or Ayaneo, which championed this format long before Valve entered the scene. It’s clear, however, that Gabe Newell’s company propelled the concept to unprecedented heights.
Yet, one key player played a pivotal role in shaping this market: AMD. By pioneering the APU concept—integrating CPU and GPU on a single chip—and embracing SoCs with superior graphics capabilities compared to Intel, AMD laid the groundwork for the rise of portable console PCs. The introduction of the Z1 family was merely the beginning, and now AMD is poised to launch a second wave with its new Z2 family.
Exploring the New AMD Z2 Family: Specifications and Features
AMD has unveiled three chips for its manufacturing partners, designed specifically for upcoming portable consoles: the Z2, Z2 Extreme, and Z2 Go. The Z2 Extreme stands out as the most powerful option, while the standard Z2 aims for a more accessible performance level. The newcomer, Z2 Go, is tailored for budget-friendly devices.
To illustrate the capabilities of these new chips, here’s a comparative overview of the AMD Z SoCs across different generations:
The differences between the various models appear minimal. The “compute units,” which refer to the GPU component, continue to utilize RDNA 3 architecture, with speculation suggesting an upgrade to the 3.5 version that debuted with the latest Ryzen AI 300. The Z2 Extreme shows promise with additional units, even though its maximum CPU frequency experiences a slight dip, which should not significantly affect performance.
The standard Z2 seems to be a rebranded version of the Z1 Extreme, aimed at filling the mid-range segment of portable console chips—a practice AMD is known to employ. As for the Z2 Go, it primarily compromises CPU performance while maintaining a GPU comparable to the Z1 Extreme. This strategic choice may yield better results than the previous standard Z1, which sacrificed too much GPU power. Depending on the types of games played—especially those that are not open-world—the Z2 Go could carve out a niche in the portable console market.
Overall, the Z2 family appears to move away from the 9/10W TDP concept, which is not surprising given that most users of devices like the ROG Ally or Lenovo Legion Go rarely utilize this power mode.
What to Expect from the New Z2 Chips
While we don’t anticipate a significant leap in performance with the new Z2 series, our testing of the 890M graphics integrated into AMD’s ultraportable SoCs revealed a modest performance boost—not necessarily enough to warrant the purchase of a new console, especially considering their typical launch prices hover around 800 euros.
Our primary hope lies in improved battery life. However, the TDP remains consistent, and advancements in battery technology have been limited. We can only wish for the 80 Wh battery of the ROG Ally X to become a standard in this segment.
This new generation seems less focused on console upgrades and more aimed at welcoming new players into the market or offering alternative options to existing popular products. This trend has already been hinted at through leaks surrounding CES 2025, and we look forward to witnessing these developments firsthand at the event.