It appears like AMD is cooking up a brand new gaming CPU based mostly on a really acquainted design. A brand new leak means that at a brand new AMD Ryzen Z2 processor, aimed on the handheld gaming PC market, will likely be based mostly on the Van Gogh APU used within the Steam Deck, probably positioning it as an possibility for finances handhelds.
The Steam Deck kickstarted the revolution in handheld PC gaming, and it continues to dominate, with the Steam Deck OLED nonetheless our prime suggestion as the perfect handheld gaming PC on the market. The market is getting crowded, nonetheless, with loads of alternate options for players to select from, whereas AMD appears to energy as a lot of them as it could actually with its new Z2 lineup.
{Hardware} leaker Hoang Anh Phu shared information of this new leaked CPU by way of a publish on X (previously Twitter). Within the publish, Hoang merely posted “Z2 A = Van Gogh,” with Van Gogh referring to the Steam Deck’s processor, whereas Z2 A refers to a so-far unannounced CPU within the new AMD Ryzen Z2 lineup. No additional particulars have been shared, though the Van Gogh chip used within the Steam Deck is a Zen 2 APU, fitted with eight RDNA 2 Compute Models, and we’d count on related specs right here because of this.
AMD hasn’t confirmed this, nonetheless, nor has it formally introduced such a processor itself. Nonetheless, based mostly on this leak, an AMD Ryzen Z2 A would sit under the extra highly effective AMD Ryzen Z2 Excessive as a budget-friendly possibility for producers. Such techniques might additionally profit from working SteamOS, as Lenovo is seeking to do with its Legion Go S. The Linux-based OS developed by Valve is tremendous optimized to work effectively on handhelds and is already fine-tuned to work properly on the unique Van Gogh APU design.
Regardless of AMD formally asserting the Z2 Excessive again in January, we’re nonetheless ready for gadgets that use the chip to turn into out there. It’s anticipated to be included in handhelds such because the Lenovo Legion Go 2 however there’s nonetheless no signal of them but. Whereas we wait, make certain to take a look at our Steam Deck OLED evaluation to see why Valve continues to dominate the market.
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