AMD announces Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme and Ryzen Z2 A APUs for gaming handhelds

[harlan4096]

AMD is announcing a new Ryzen Z2 series update

Announced: Ryzen Z2 A (Zen2/RDNA2) and Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme (Zen5/RDNA3.5/XDNA2).



There were many rumors about a potential update to the already expanded family of Ryzen Z2 gaming handheld APUs from AMD, and today AMD is confirming these rumors. The company has just introduced the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme and Ryzen Z2A APUs, both designed for the latest ROG XBOX Ally systems.


Source: AMD

In short, the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme, as the name suggests, is an upgrade to the Z2 Extreme. The “AI” in the name confirms that this version, unlike the original, will have its NPU enabled. The Strix Point based APU comes with an XDNA2 processor, which, similar to the last-gen Ryzen Z1 series, was previously disabled for gaming.

However, with AI now finding its place in games, keeping this part enabled will prove useful (think AMD?) Otherwise, the specs remain the same: this is an 8-core Zen5 processor (out of 12 total cores) with 16 GPU cores (RDNA 3.5 Compute Units).


Source: AMD

At the same time, AMD is confirming the Ryzen Z2A. Under this name likely hides the Van Gogh variant APU, which features 4 Zen2 cores and 8 GPU cores (RDNA2).

In this sense, the Ryzen Z2 Extreme will target higher-end systems, while the Z2A will focus on long-lasting handheld PC gaming, as AMD confirms. This SKU, unlike the other Ryzen Z2 chips, will also have a lower TDP of 6-20W instead of 15-30/35W.

The first systems powered by each processor are the ASUS ROG XBOX Ally X (Z2 Extreme) and XBOX Ally (Z2A). We have updated our chart with all Ryzen Z-Series APUs.

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