The Ryzen Z1 chip hides a 6-core and 12-thread processor accompanied by an RDNA graphics with 4 compute units and a 22MB cache to offer a performance of 2.8 teraflops, seven times more than Nintendo Switch and 50% more. than Steam Deck, which uses a custom AMD Zen 2 chip with RDNA 2. For its part, the Ryzen Z1 Extreme goes up to 8 cores and 16 threads, while its graphics section is in charge of 12 computing units and has 24 MB of cache to deliver 8.6 teraflops graphics performance. A figure close to the 10.28 teraflops of PlayStation 5. Xbox Series X has 12 teraflops.
With these specifications it is clear that the jewel in the crown is the Ryzen Z1 Extreme, which according to AMD can run games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Grand Theft Auto V, Company of Heroes 3 or Borderlands 3 at more than 60 FPS with low graphics and 1080p resolution upscaled from 720p with Radeon Super Resolution (RSR). The Ryzen Z1 chip lowers its performance and with the same settings it settles for a lower frame rate. For example, Red Dead Redemption 2 runs it at 41.8 FPS, but it also surprises by being able to move Far Cry 6 to 61 FPS when its big brother only hits 59 FPS.
In case you want to play at native 1080p and low graphics settings, the Ryzen Z1 struggles a lot to offer a decent experience, while the Ryzen Z1 Extreme manages to hover around 60 FPS in most of the games reviewed. To these results we must add a determining factor in a portable device: the TDP. AMD notes that these observations were made with a samples Asus ROG Ally using Turbo Mode, which allows the processor to consume up to 30 watts depending on the game. Steam Deck is satisfied with half of that and thanks to its 40 Wh battery it has a range of about 2 hours.
It’s unknown how big the ROG Ally’s battery is, or if matching the Steam Deck’s 15 watts it could be just as competitive. On the other hand, both devices have a frame limiter, while the Z1 processors have support for Radeon Chill, an energy-saving system that reduces battery consumption based on the target FPS.