AMD, the American multinational semiconductor company, has announced the Ryzen Z1 and Z1 Extreme CPUs for handheld gaming devices. The new processors are based on the Zen 4 core architecture and feature integrated RDNA3 graphics cores. These new CPUs are designed to create a new market for X86-compatible handheld gaming consoles.
Asus ROG Ally Confirmed as the First Device
The Asus ROG Ally gaming handheld has been confirmed as the first device to be based on a Ryzen Z1 series CPU. More specific details about its price, launch date, and other specifications will be announced by Asus on May 11 at 7:30 pm (IST).
Two Models Announced
Two CPU models have been announced: the Ryzen Z1 and Ryzen Z1 Extreme. The Ryzen Z1 features six multithreaded “Zen 4” CPU cores along with four RDNA3 GPU cores. The Ryzen Z1 Extreme, on the other hand, features eight CPU cores and 12 GPU cores.
Features and Capabilities
Devices based on Ryzen Z1 processors will support USB4, LPDDR5, and LPDDR5X RAM, and they will support Windows. This means that users will have access to a whole ecosystem of games and gaming stores beyond Steam. Devices will also function as full-fledged computers when connected to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
AMD promises industry-leading performance and battery life, delivering an “elite gaming experience” in a highly portable form factor. Using the same hardware as mainstream AMD CPUs and GPUs means that handheld devices based on Ryzen Z1 processors will support the company’s Radeon Super Resolution graphics upscaling technology, as well as other features such as Radeon Chill for power saving and AMD Link game streaming.
Outlook
As no official performance, temperature, or battery life figures have been released yet, the Asus announcement on May 11 should shed some light on what potential buyers can expect. However, given AMD’s continued push into the thin-and-light laptop space and claims of delivering premium graphics performance with its Ryzen 7xxx mobile CPUs, it will be interesting to see how this turns out and whether more manufacturers announce gaming handhelds based on these CPUs before or at the upcoming PC-centric Computex trade show.
