Handheld gaming PCs have made a significant resurgence, becoming one of the most favored ways for gaming enthusiasts to indulge in their passion anytime and anywhere. There is a variety of excellent choices available, including Valve’s Steam Deck (which has paved the way for handheld gaming in this era), the Asus ROG Ally X, Lenovo Legion Go, and the MSI Claw 8 AI+—in essence, things are just going to improve as time goes on.
The key component in these handheld devices and their gaming performance is their processors (or specifically, SoCs, meaning System-on-a-Chip), with both the CPU and GPU integrated onto a single chip. Thanks mainly to AMD and Intel, we have experienced the benefits of chips such as the Ryzen Z1 Extreme and the Core Ultra 7 258V in handheld PCs, which deliver ample processing capability for excellent performance across a wide range of games.
Features like frame generation and upscaling technologies further aid in maintaining strong results, particularly in resource-intensive titles: notably, AMD’s FSR 3 is utilized in devices like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally. Nevertheless, its latest iteration, FSR 4, significantly enhances its predecessor with superior image fidelity and performance without the drawback of noticeable ghosting.
A major downside, however, is that FSR 4 is currently limited to RDNA 4 desktop GPUs, and AMD is reportedly working on a Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip, which is said to use RDNA 3.5 according to a reliable source on X. Unless Team Red can transition FSR 4 to RDNA 3.5, I see no compelling reason for an ‘AI’ version of the Z2 Extreme processor.
If it doesn’t offer processing capabilities akin to the Ryzen AI Max+ chips, then it seems pointless.
Focusing specifically on handheld gaming PCs, the priority should be ensuring that consumers experience the best possible performance without compromising battery life or causing overheating: the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip competes with certain desktop GPUs in high-demand triple-A titles like Cyberpunk 2077, but it remains uncertain if the APU can be effectively implemented in a compact device like a handheld gaming PC.
The rumored Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip (unless it utilizes RDNA 4 architecture) doesn’t seem advantageous to me—at least, not in comparison to the already-announced Ryzen Z2 Extreme. It’s still early days, and we cannot even confirm the legitimacy of the rumors, but the potential improvements in gaming could include enhanced frame generation courtesy of the onboard Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which manages dedicated AI tasks like upscaling and frame generation in video games.
I would wager that it won’t match the AI Max+ 395 in processing power: the iGPU of the AI Max+ 395 has 40 GPU cores, capable of achieving high frame rates without the need for a discrete GPU—so much so that it is being introduced into the desktop gaming PC market.
Up to now, the only ‘AI’ SoC for handhelds that appears worthwhile is Intel’s ‘Lunar Lake’ Core Ultra 7 258V found in the MSI Claw 8 AI+. While its price may not be the most attractive at $899 / £899 / AU$1,799.00, it arguably outperforms all other handhelds currently available.
I hope to be proven wrong, and that AMD either brings FSR 4 to handhelds using this rumored chip or, at the very least, ensures that it possesses sufficient power to challenge or rival Intel’s dominant Lunar Lake chip—because based on the current rumors, it might be a waste of effort for gamers.
At CES 2025, AMD has finally revealed the chipset designed for the next generation of handheld gaming PCs, known as the AMD Zen 2 Extreme.
The AMD Zen 2 Extreme, along with its less powerful variants, the Z2 and Z2 Go, are powered by Zen 5 CPU cores. The Zen 2 Extreme features an RDNA 3.5-based GPU, while the Z2 and Z2 Go utilize RDNA 3 and RDNA 2, respectively. This creates a whole range of APUs (Advanced Processing Units) for handheld gaming PCs, which should ideally contribute to a decrease in handheld prices.
With the Z2 Extreme, AMD aims to significantly enhance battery life while also delivering console-quality gaming performance for devices like the Lenovo Legion Go. Overall, the primary limitation for these handhelds, especially at the higher end, is how quickly their batteries deplete while playing demanding games away from an electrical outlet.
Mobile PC gaming encompasses more than just handheld gaming systems, and AMD has also introduced its new series of Zen 5-based processors for gaming laptops, which they refer to as the “Fire Range” HX3D. These processors, similar to the recently launched chips from Intel, will power the finest gaming laptops in the coming year or so. Unlike Intel, however, AMD is incorporating the successful 3D V-cache architecture from the Ryzen 7 9800X3D into gaming laptops.
This innovation enables AMD to stack significantly more cache on its processor by overlaying it above the actual CPU cores. This enhancement improves gaming performance while reducing temperatures, which further boosts gaming performance. I’ll need to wait until I can test these new processors in the lab to truly assess their performance, but if they are anything like their desktop variants, it will be an exciting time for gaming laptops.
All of these mobile chipsets, from “Fire Range” HX3D to the AMD Z2 Extreme, will end up in gaming laptops and handhelds over the next few months.
The Ryzen Z2 Extreme is a quite robust processor from the Strix Point family that was launched in early 2025. This hybrid architecture APU features 8 CPU cores, comprising a combination of three Zen 5 and five Zen 5c cores, operating at frequencies ranging from 2.0 to 5.0 GHz, in addition to the 16 CU RDNA 3.5 Radeon 880M graphics unit and the 50 TOPS XDNA 2 neural engine. When compared to the similar Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360, the Z2 Extreme lacks the Ryzen AI NPU.
Architecture and Features
Strix Point family APUs are driven by Zen 5 and Zen 5c microarchitecture cores, which are organized into two distinct clusters, with Zen 5c being a slightly less powerful, smaller, and more energy-efficient variant. One notable distinction between Zen 5 and Zen 5c is their cache size; Zen 5 cores are equipped with larger caches.
In any case, the mobile Zen 5 implementation is reportedly (ChipsAndCheese) closer to the desktop Zen 4 than it is to desktop Zen 5, due to varying cache sizes, significant differences in AVX-512 throughput, and other factors.
Additionally, the Ryzen chip is compatible with DDR5-5600 and LPDDR5x-8000 RAM, allowing system designers to choose between lower latency and higher throughput options. The chip has native support for USB 4 (and consequently Thunderbolt). It also includes PCIe 4.0 support, which provides a throughput of 1.9 GB/s per lane, similar to its 8000 series predecessors. The integrated XDNA 2 NPU, which has seen significant complexity improvements over the first-gen XDNA, offers up to 50 INT8 TOPS to enhance various AI tasks.
As is customary for mobile CPUs, the Ryzen 7 AI PRO chip is not user-replaceable, as it is permanently soldered into place.
Performance
The performance is expected to be on par with the Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 due to the comparable specifications, although it could be limited by TDP and thermal restrictions in handheld devices.
Graphics
The Radeon 880M serves as the direct successor to the 780M. It features several notable changes internally, including quicker caches; its 16 RDNA 3.5 architecture CUs/WGPs (with 768 unified shaders) operate at a currently unspecified clock speed. This AMD integrated GPU typically achieves well over 30 fps in both Once Human and The First Descendant at 1080p on low settings, making it quite capable for both casual and competitive gaming.
Power Consumption
The Z2 Extreme is designed to have a low-term TDP power target of 28 W, granting handheld manufacturers the flexibility to select between 15 and 35 W.
Built on a 4 nm TSMC process, these CPUs exhibit above-average energy efficiency as of late 2024.