The AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme is official. AMD has taken the wraps off its highly anticipated handheld gaming CPU that is potentially set to power future versions of the Asus ROG Ally, and Lenovo Legion Go, and it looks set to bring big gains in gaming performance and battery life. However, despite the Steam Deck appearing in a slide to announce the new chip, a Valve developer has said the Z2 won’t be used in a future Steam Deck.
The new CPU is a follow-up to the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, which is already used to power the Asus ROG Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go, and it looks as though future handhelds are now about to become a whole lot more powerful. While it looks as though the new chip won’t be used in the Steam Deck 2, though, there’s nothing to stop other companies making SteamOS handhelds using the Z2.
in AMD’s presentation to announce the new CPU, there’s a curious slide where the Steam Deck is pictured along with the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go (pictured below), leading us to originally assume there could be a Z2 Extreme-based Steam Deck in the works. However, Valve Steam Deck developer Pierre-Loup Griffais has already shot down this rumor, saying there “will be no Z2 Steam Deck” in a post on Bluesky (above), as pointed out by GamingOnLinux.
It’s still an impressively powerful handheld chip, though. The most obvious upgrade with this new processor is that its GPU moves from 12 compute units, as on the Z1 Extreme, to a design with 16 compute units. That 33% boost in processing components should provide a fairly direct and linear boost to gaming performance, providing gamers with a faster frame rate or allowing for a steady frame rate at a higher resolution.
Outside of this change, the raw uptick in performance compared to the Z1 Extreme isn’t so obvious, as the Z2 Extreme CPU specs look broadly the same as those of the Z1 Extreme, with the new chip sporting an eight-core CPU that can process 16 threads at once.
The Ryzen Z2 will also be available in two other configurations, the Z2 and Z2 Go, with both these dropping to a 12 CU GPU while, the Go also drops to just a four-core CPU. The Ryzen Z2 Go actually sounds like a really intriguing option, as although quad-core CPUs are on the limit for what’s needed for a lot of AAA modern games, it’s still plenty for most older titles, plus you then still get a GPU with 12 CUs. If AMD and its partners can bring that process to market for a great price, it could make for a tempting budget handheld option.
Outside of these basic specs, AMD hasn’t provided too many details as to what else has changed on the new CPU but claims the new chip will provide “more performance and capability than prior generations with hours and hours of battery life.”
As for when you might be able to get your hands on the first AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme devices, AMD suggests they will appear in Q1 2025, so that’s any time from now until April. Here’s hoping it’s sooner rather than later.
Revealed at its CES 2025 press conference, the Z2 Extreme joins a host of other AMD announcements from the world’s largest tech trade show, including a new Ryzen 9 9950X3D desktop gaming CPU, the much anticipated Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card, and AMD Ryzen AI Max gaming laptop CPUs with incredible 40 CU GPUs.
You can find all the latest from CES by checking out our CES news hub.
