AMD Ryzen Z2 Go Fails To Impress In Initial Benchmark

Recently, a YouTube presentation highlighted the gaming prowess of AMD’s forthcoming Ryzen Z2 Go chipset, aimed at budget-friendly gaming handhelds. As part of the Ryzen Z2 series, the Z2 Go’s performance was evaluated on a Lenovo Legion Go S, with comparisons made to the previous year’s Z1 Extreme found in the Asus ROG Ally X.

Performance data released by FPS VN indicates that the Z2 Go has certain constraints when set against the Z1 Extreme. For example, in Black Myth: Wukong, the Z2 Go reached 36 fps compared to 40 fps at 15W, 30 fps versus 32 fps at 20W, and 60 fps versus 64 fps at 30W. In Cyberpunk 2077, it achieved 50 fps against 54 fps at 15W, 45 fps versus 47 fps at 20W, and 61 fps compared to 66 fps at 30W. A similar pattern was observed in Ghost of Tsushima, where it managed 62 fps compared to 66 fps at 15W, 48 fps against 52 fps at 20W, and matched 62 fps to 66 fps at 30W. Even though the performance disparity is slight, it consistently hovers around 7-10% across all games tested.

Based on information provided by AMD during CES, the Ryzen Z2 Go is expected to have a 4-core and 8-thread CPU architecture alongside a 12 CU RDNA 2 GPU. While confirmations are still awaited, it’s anticipated that the chipset will incorporate the older Zen 3 architecture paired with RDNA 2 technology for its GPU.

This chipset introduces minimal enhancements compared to the Z1 Extreme, which boasts the new Zen 4 design with 8 cores and 16 threads. Nevertheless, the Z2 Go holds its own and comes impressively close to the Z1 Extreme, making it an appealing option for gamers searching for an economical handheld gaming device.

The Legion Go S equipped with the Z2 Go is set to retail at $599 running Windows and $499 with SteamOS, presenting an affordable choice compared to the ROG Ally X. Stay tuned for our in-depth review, which will include a thorough assessment of battery performance.