AMD's Ryzen Z2 Extreme Gaming Chip Underwhelms in Early Tests — Will Driver Updates Rescue Next-Gen Handhelds?

The Evolution of AMD's Z1 and Z2 Extreme APUs in Handheld Gaming

AMD has made a significant impact on the handheld gaming market with its Z1 Extreme APU, which powers devices like the ASUS ROG Ally, ROG Ally X, and Lenovo Legion Go. These devices have been praised for their performance and portability, making them popular choices among gamers. However, AMD wasn’t content with just one iteration of this powerful chip. At IFA 2024, it was revealed that AMD had already begun development on the Z2 Extreme, a successor to the Z1 Extreme. According to AMD’s Senior VP, Jack Huynh, the Z2 Extreme would significantly improve battery life in performance mode, extending it from around 45 minutes to up to 3 hours.

The Z2 Extreme, along with the Z2 and Z2 Go, was officially unveiled at CES 2025. Shortly after, MSI announced the Claw A8 gaming handheld, which features the Z2 Extreme. While the Z1 Extreme continues to deliver strong performance in top-tier gaming handhelds, the Z2 Extreme has generated considerable excitement. However, some of the hype may be overstated, as highlighted by a detailed comparison between the two chips from the YouTube channel ETA PRIME.

Performance Comparison: Z2 Extreme vs. Z1 Extreme

ETA PRIME obtained an early model of the MSI Claw A8, which is currently available only in China. Preorders for the device have started in Europe, but other regions are still waiting for its release. With the ASUS ROG Ally X, which features the Z1 Extreme, in hand, ETA PRIME conducted a thorough analysis of both chips.

There are several caveats to consider. Early driver support for the Z2 Extreme is still in development, and as seen with previous handhelds, software updates can significantly improve frame rates. At the time of the video, the Z2 Extreme did not yet offer enough performance gains to justify upgrading from the Z1 Extreme.

The Z2 Extreme features 8 cores—three Zen 5 and five Zen 5c—with 16 threads. It also includes 16 RDNA 3.5 integrated GPU cores and operates within a 15W to 30W TDP. The Z1 Extreme, while having the same core and thread count, uses the older Zen 4 architecture and has 12 RDNA 3 GPU cores. Both chips operate within the same TDP range.

In terms of memory, both devices come with 24GB of LPDDR5x RAM. The ROG Ally X reaches speeds of 7,500MT/s, while the Claw A8 achieves 8,000MT/s. Both run Windows 11.

Benchmarking the Z2 Extreme

In Geekbench tests, the Z2 Extreme outperformed the Z1 Extreme at 17W with a single-core score of 2,325 compared to 1,795. However, the Z1 Extreme slightly edged out the Z2 Extreme in multi-core performance with a score of 7,922 versus 7,892. When the TDP was increased to 25W, the Z2 Extreme took the lead in both categories. OpenCL Geekbench scores also favored the Z2 Extreme, with a score of 33,488 compared to 27,807 for the Z1 Extreme.

Moving to 3DMark, the Z2 Extreme continued to outperform the Z1 Extreme in Time Spy and Steel Nomad benchmarks. While synthetic benchmarks provide valuable insights, real-world game performance is equally important.

Real-World Game Performance

Testing Cyberpunk 2077 at 25W TDP with the Steam Deck preset showed a minimal 4FPS difference. The Z1 Extreme averaged 42.66 FPS, while the Z2 Extreme averaged 46.65 FPS. At 17W, the Z1 Extreme averaged 32 FPS, and the Z2 Extreme averaged 39 FPS. Dropping the resolution to 900p at 17W saw the Z2 Extreme reach 45.56 FPS, while the Z1 Extreme averaged 35.47 FPS.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1080p with 25W TDP showed the Z2 Extreme averaging 64 FPS compared to 59 FPS for the Z1 Extreme. Forza Horizon 5 saw similar results, with the Z2 Extreme averaging 80 FPS and the Z1 Extreme 76 FPS. Black Myth: Wukong at 1080p with 25W TDP showed the Z2 Extreme averaging 49 FPS, while the Z1 Extreme averaged 44 FPS.

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered at 1080p with 25W TDP saw the Z2 Extreme average 31 FPS, while the Z1 Extreme averaged 30 FPS.

Future Potential of the Z2 Extreme

ETA PRIME noted that while the current performance of the Z2 Extreme is promising, it may require further driver updates to fully realize its potential. As seen with previous handhelds, initial performance may not reflect the final capabilities once drivers are optimized.

Looking ahead, the upcoming Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, developed in partnership with Microsoft and ASUS, will feature the Ryzen Z2 A and Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chips, respectively. The Z2 Extreme sits at the top of AMD’s Ryzen Z1 and Z2 lineup, while the Z2 A is slightly ahead of the standard Z1. How these chips perform when the Xbox hardware launches will be an interesting development to watch.