After the Asus ROG Ally handheld was unveiled last month, AMD unveiled its shiny new Ryzen Z1 chip, a line of APUs specifically designed for Steam Deck-style portable gaming devices. However, on paper, the chip (or at least the hardware part revealed) looks very similar to AMD’s new ultraportable laptop CPUs, specifically the Ryzen 7 7840U (for Z1 Extreme) and Ryzen 5 7640U/7540U. (for Z1). Several new details have come to light explaining the differences.
It’s no surprise that AMD uses its processor know-how for multiple low-powered devices at the same time, but the devil appears to be in the details. Tom’s Hardware quotes an AMD representative who says the company needs to “validate a whole new power range and optimize the voltage curve” for the Z1 and Z1 Extreme, even if the hardware is superficially similar.
Crucially, the Z1 and Z1 Extreme can run as low as 9 Watts and as high as 30 Watts depending on their software requirements. Compare that to the more limited 15-30w range of the Ryzen 7040U series. A difference of 6 watts may not seem like much, but in a form factor like the Asus ROG Ally (or Steam Deck really), a little extra battery life makes a difference. This is especially true if you’re playing less demanding 2D games or streaming from GeForce Now or Xbox Game Pass. The Z1 processor also has the Ryzen XDNA AI coprocessor disabled, but obviously the physical hardware will remain. It may not be suitable for Ally’s power consumption hardware profile.
I asked AMD’s Frank Azor (a regular on The Full Nerd podcast) if AMD plans to use the Z1 processor in a form factor beyond something like an Ally or Steam Deck. He replied that these designs were specific to devices in this class and that many other AMD processors could be used in laptops requiring similar features. This appears to be consistent with the customizations to the Z1 line described in the latest details.
ROG Ally will be officially released later this week on May 11th. The most interesting detail yet to be revealed is the price, but if the initial leaks are accurate, Valve may have something to worry about.