AMD's Ryzen Z2 Extreme gaming benchmarks demonstrate that the handheld chip's memory bandwidth may be limiting its full performance potential
In the realm of handheld gaming PCs, the latest offerings from AMD have made a significant impact. The launch of the successors to the popular Ryzen Z1 and Z1 Extreme APUs in 2025 has brought about some intriguing developments.
The Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS ed. and the Lenovo Legion Go, two of the best handheld gaming PCs, have been powered by the new Ryzen Z2 APUs. However, a closer look at the gaming performance of the Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU reveals some interesting findings.
Despite having 33% more compute units, the Ryzen Z2 Extreme shows only a slight improvement in gaming performance over the Ryzen Z1 Extreme. This is primarily due to the thermal and power constraints of handheld form factors that prevent the Z2 Extreme from fully leveraging its additional compute units.
In real-world gaming benchmarks, such as Cyberpunk 2077, the Ryzen Z2 Extreme averages only 5 frames per second more than the Z1 Extreme. Even in lowering the power limit to 17W, the Z2 Extreme runs 22% better than the Z1 Extreme at 1080p. These performance gains are less than what might be expected from a 33% increase in GPU cores alone.
Synthetic CPU and GPU benchmarks, like Geekbench, show a more substantial 27% increase in multi-core CPU and GPU scores for the Z2 Extreme over the Z1 Extreme. However, gaming performance gains are narrower because games are more constrained by power, thermals, and memory bandwidth than by raw hardware specs.
Meanwhile, the budget-friendly Steam Deck continues to be a popular choice, offering an affordable entry into the world of handheld gaming PCs. The MSI Claw A8 and MSI Claw 8 AI, two of the best Windows handheld gaming PCs, also feature APUs with fewer compute units than the Ryzen Z2 Extreme. The OneXFly F1 Pro handheld, another contender, also has 16 compute units, similar to the Ryzen Z2 Extreme.
In summary, the constrained power budget and higher clock speeds of the older Z1 Extreme result in similar gaming performance to the Z2 Extreme, despite the latter's architectural improvements and increased compute units. This explains why the real-world gaming gains on handheld gaming PCs remain modest.
Nick Evanson, a seasoned author with a long history in writing about gaming and computers, has been keeping a close eye on these developments. As we move forward, it will be interesting to see how these trends continue to evolve and shape the landscape of handheld gaming PCs.
- Nick Evanson, taking note of the gaming landscape, observes that real-world gains on handheld gaming PCs remain modest despite the Ryzen Z2 Extreme's enhanced capabilities.
- Gadget enthusiasts who appreciate technology might find interest in the modest gaming performance improvements in the Lenovo Legion Go's successor, powered by the Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU.
- As the technology season unfolds, the budget-friendly Steam Deck, with fewer compute units than the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, maintains its popularity for those seeking an entry into the world of handheld gaming PCs.
- While the OneXFly F1 Pro and MSI Claw A8/Claw 8 AI, both boasting 16 compute units like the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, contribute to the handheld gaming PC market, they do not achieve gaming performance levels significantly higher than the older Ryzen Z1 Extreme APUs.
