AMD Ryzen Z1, the all-in-one processor that powers the Asus ROG Ally and Ally X and the Lenovo Legion Go, has been confirmed to be replaced by an updated sequel. Officially called the Ryzen Z2, the semi-custom chip won’t launch until next year, and it’s hoped that more vendors will utilize it than the original Z1.
Even if you’re only occasionally interested in portable gaming PCs, you’ve probably noticed that when it comes to the chip that powers the device, almost every vendor opts for an AMD Ryzen APU. The Steam Deck uses a custom chip designed specifically for the portable, but most portables utilize something like the Ryzen 7 7840U.
The aforementioned Asus and Lenovo devices utilize a customized version of this APU, called the Ryzen Z1 or the significantly better Z1 Extreme. I say “customized,” but it’s really the same processor, just with a different TDP (15W for the Z1 Extreme, 28W for the 7840U). Oh, and the AI part of the chip is also disabled.
With so few differences, it’s uncomplicated to see why so many gaming laptop makers have gone with the standard 7840U, and I assumed that would become the norm for such devices. However, in an interview with PC World, AMD confirmed that the Ryzen Z2 is definitely in the works, and the company expects it to “come to market probably in early 2025.”
Unfortunately, PC World couldn’t get any further details out of AMD, so we’re left to guess what APU the Z2 will be based on. The most obvious choice is the Strix Point, also known as the Ryzen AI 300 — similar models like the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 have the same TDP as the 7840U, so they’re certainly a good fit for most laptops.
While the Z1 Extreme has eight Zen 4 CPU cores and 12 RDNA 3 compute units (CUs) for graphics, the HX 370 boasts four Zen 5 CPU cores and eight Zen 5c CPU cores and 16 RDNA 3.5 CUs. Both chips have the same 5.1GHz CPU Boost clock, but the latter has a 2.9GHz GPU Boost clock compared to the former’s 2.7GHz.
In compact, if the Ryzen Z2 is indeed just a rebranded Strix Point design, it should offer up to 43% better graphics performance than the Z1 Extreme. But if AMD tunes it up properly, like reducing the amount of die space devoted to AI acceleration and allocating it to more CUs, the Ryzen Z2 could be a powerful little CPU for gaming on portable PCs.
AMD hopes more vendors will choose the Z2 over an off-the-shelf chip, but there are some barriers to that. For one, semi-custom chips are typically more pricey than standard chips, and even if the difference is miniature, every penny counts in the PC industry.
Big vendors like Asus and Lenovo will certainly be content to absorb the extra costs, but smaller players like Ayaneo certainly won’t.
Then there’s Intel with its Lunar Lake chips. We haven’t had our hands on one yet to test it thoroughly, but early indications are that it’s a great little laptop chip that could be ideal for portable gaming. If it proves to be better than the Strix Point, then unless it’s really pricey, you can bet that portable vendors will choose it over AMD’s semi-custom chip.
Whatever happens, the portable gaming PC market in 2025 is shaping up to be really competitive, and we’ll have a lot of choice when it comes to the chip that powers each device. It looks like we’ll have a lot of testing to do next year!
