What wasn’t a secret for so long is now official. With the Ryzen Z1 and Ryzen Z1 Extreme, AMD has expanded its APU lineup with two chips intended for laptops. It is known that the first customer of APUs was the Asus ROG Ally.
What has already emerged from the Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming “marketing specs”, which was expected soon and therefore no longer a secret, is now fully official. As part of an official press release, AMD has introduced its new “Ryzen Z1 Series,” which consists of the Ryzen Z1 and Ryzen Z1 Extreme APUs. These are two chipsets designed specifically for laptops, based on Zen 4 and RDNA 3. Both processors support LPDDR5 and LPDDR5X up to 7500MB/s.
Ryzen Z1 and Ryzen Z1 Extreme for handheld computers
Both APUs are based on the Zen 4 CPU and RDNA 3 graphics unit in a single package and will be used in the future only as a “high performance processor” for “gaming laptops”. Ryzen Z1 6 Zen offers 4 cores, RDNA 3 GPU with 4 or 8 CUs and 256 shader. The larger Ryzen Z1 Extreme offers eight Zen 4 processor cores and a GPU with 6 or 12 compute units and 768 compute units. The cache is 22 or 24 MB.
![AMD Ryzen Z1 and Ryzen Z1 Extreme [Quelle: AMD]](https://www.pcgameshardware.de/screenshots/380x214/2023/04/Ryzen-Z1-Series-2-pcgh.jpg)
![AMD Ryzen Z1 and Ryzen Z1 Extreme [Quelle: AMD]](https://www.pcgameshardware.de/screenshots/380x214/2023/04/Ryzen-Z1-Series-3-pcgh.jpg)
The TDP (“cTDP”), which can be configured by laptop manufacturers, is between 15 and 30 Watts for each of the APUs. For the Ryzen Z1 Extreme, Asus reported 50 percent higher performance at 15W TDP and twice the performance at 30W power loss than Steam Deck’s Aerith APU. Full technical specifications read as follows.
| AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme | AMD Ryzen Z1 | AMD Arte | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU architecture | Zen 4 | Zen 4 | Zen 2 |
| processor cores/threads | 8/16 | 6/12 | 4/8 |
| GPU architecture | RNDA 3 | RNA 3 | RNA 2 |
| account units | 12 | 4 | VIII |
| shading units | 768 | 256 | 512 |
| L2 cache | 8 MB | 6 mibits | 2 MB |
| L3 cache | 16 MB | 16 MB | 4 mibits |
| cTDP | 15 – 30 watts | 15 – 30 watts | 8 – 15 watts |
The basis of the Ryzen Z1 series is the AMD Ryzen 7040U (“Phoenix-U”), which should also celebrate its premiere in the first laptops in May. In addition to the Asus ROG Ally, other upcoming laptops like the GPD Win Max and Aokzoe A1 Pro can also count on dedicated mobile APUs.
At AMD, we’re constantly advancing the next generation of gaming experiences, from consoles to desktops to mobile devices on the go. Ryzen Z1 processors provide gamers with an upscale gaming experience and superior portability in exciting gaming form factors.
Jason Banta, Corporate Vice President and General Manager, AMD
For more information, see the official Product page From Ryzen Z1 and Ryzen Z1 Extreme.
Your opinion is asked!
How do you feel about that? The editorial team at PCGH welcomes your well-intentioned opinion in the comments on this post. To comment, you must be logged into PCGH.de or the Extreme forum. If you do not have an account yet, you can register here Registration without obligation.
“Prone to fits of apathy. Zombie ninja. Entrepreneur. Organizer. Evil travel aficionado. Coffee practitioner. Beer lover.”