Introducing the AMD Z2: A Bold Leap into the Future of Portable PC Gaming!

CES 2025 hasn’t officially commenced yet, but with AMD’s latest revelations, we’re receiving an early look into what lies ahead: the forthcoming generation of PC gaming handhelds. AMD has declared that its highly awaited Ryzen Z2 processor is set to deliver after first unveiling the chip at Computex last summer.

AMD’s original Z1 processor powered the majority of the initial wave of gaming handheld devices, while Valve’s Steam Deck relies on a closely customized variant. AMD claims that the Z2 can deliver “console-class” visuals that endure for numerous hours, although it hasn’t shared any benchmarks or detailed performance information. (To be fair, it’s challenging as the design constraints of handhelds can significantly influence performance.)

The Z2 is not simply a single chip, but rather a collection of solutions that all incorporate Radeon RDNA graphics alongside Ryzen CPU cores — although the specifics differ greatly. There’s the standard Z2 featuring RDNA 3 graphics cores, as well as a Ryzen Z2 Go that possesses fewer CPU cores, older RDNA 2 graphics, and (significantly) lower clock speeds. Meanwhile, the high-end Ryzen Z2 Extreme boasts 33 percent additional Radeon graphics cores, showcasing the most powerful capabilities, utilizing RDNA 3.5 technology.

Notably, the previous generation’s Z1 was confined to eight Radeon compute units, whereas the current base Ryzen Z2 chips align with the Z1 Extreme’s more robust 12 Radeon compute units. Manufacturers of gaming handhelds will have the option to choose which chip they utilize based on the performance and price point they are targeting.

In relation to that, AMD’s presentation featured a trio of examples of the types of handheld devices powered by these chips, and they are impressive options: the Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo’s Legion Go, and — just wait — Valve’s Steam Deck. However, don’t get too thrilled by that apparent announcement: “There is and will not be any Z2 Steam Deck,” Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais stated on Bluesky. “I believe the slide was intended to suggest that this series is meant for such products, not to announce anything specific.”

The anticipation for Steam Deck 2 persists, yet expect AMD’s collaborators to reveal some of their other Ryzen Z2-powered handheld devices at CES 2025, with broader availability anticipated later this quarter.