AMD's Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU is going to bring a full 16 RDNA 3.5 GPU cores to next-gen gaming handhelds as reported by Golden Pig Upgrade.
AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme Handheld APU Gets 16 RDNA 3.5 GPU & 8 Zen 5 CPU Cores
Yesterday, we got to see some preliminary specifications of the next-gen AMD Ryzen Z2 series APUs which will go on to power a range of gaming handhelds in 2024. Correcting his earlier statement, Golden Pig Upgrade (via Bilibili) now states that the Z2 Extreme will feature a much better GPU configuration than the one he revealed earlier.
As per the new specifications, the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU will come packed with a total of 16 Compute Units which will be based on the new RDNA 3.5 graphics architecture. This is the flagship configuration as far as the GPU goes for Strix Point APUs and will only be exceeded by AMD's Strix Halo lineup which would feature up to 40 compute units. As such, this iGPU will be the same AMD Radeon 890M configuration found on the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 APU which is the fastest Strix APU on the market right now.
In terms of CPU, the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU will come with an 8-core and 16-thread config based on the Zen 5-core architecture. It is reported that the configuration will feature a total of three Zen 5 and five Zen 5C cores. This would allow AMD to maximize the performance and efficiency of the chip. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 also features a similar CPU configuration and clocks up to 5.0 GHz. The CPU will stick with a 9W to 30W TDP range.
The AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU will serve as the highest-end handheld gaming chip for 2025 while the standard Z2 and Z2G offerings will serve the mainstream and entry-level segments. AMD will be battling against Intel's Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" & Core Ultra 200U "Arrow Lake" CPUs in the handheld gaming segment.
The Lunar Lake CPUs in particular come with Xe2 cores and have been showing a great performance per watt increase so this time, AMD will have a real challenger on the market, unlike the past few generations where the red team dominated the market with zero to no competition.
Intel vs AMD Flagship Handheld SoCs:
| CPU Name | Intel Arc G3 Extreme | AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Panther Lake | Strix Point |
| Process Node | Intel 18A | TSMC 4nm |
| Max Cores/Threads | 14/14 | 8/16 |
| Max Clocks | 4.60 GHz | 5.0 GHz |
| Max Cache | 30 MB | 24 MB |
| Memory | LPDDR5x-9600 | LPDDR5x-8000 |
| TDP Range | 15-30W? | 15-35W |
| GPU Architecture | Arc B390 (Battlemage Xe3) | Radeon 890M (RDNA 3.5) |
| Max GPU Cores | 12 Xe3 Cores | 16 CUs |
| Launch | Mid-2026 | June, 2025 |
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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