Announcing AMD Ryzen Z1, Z1 Extreme processors for gaming laptops; Asus ROG Ally has been confirmed as the first device

AMD has officially announced the Ryzen Z1 series of ultra-low-power processors for portable devices, including gaming devices. The new processors are based on the same Zen 4 core architecture as the Ryzen 7000 series desktop processors. will be generated and will have integrated RDNA3 graphics cores around which Radeon RX 7000 series GPUs will be built. AMD hopes to create a new market for X86-compatible handheld game consoles modeled after the popular Steam deck. Existing devices like the Ayaneo Air series and the upcoming Ayaneo 2 are built around AMD’s lower-powered Ryzen U-series processors, but still hold their own in gaming circles.

First announced on April 1, the Asus ROG Ally gaming device has been confirmed as the first shipping device based on the Ryzen Z1 series processor. Exact details about its price, launch date and other specifications will be announced by Asus on May 11 at 7:30 PM (IST).

So far, two CPU models have been announced: the Ryzen Z1, with six multi-threaded “Zen 4” CPU cores and four RDNA3 GPU cores, and the more powerful Ryzen Z1 Extreme, with eight CPU and 12 GPU cores. AMD promises industry-leading performance and battery life for an “elite gaming experience” in a highly portable form factor. Using the same hardware as traditional AMD processors and GPUs means that wearables based on Ryzen Z1 processors will support the company’s Radeon Super Resolution graphics scaling technology, as well as other features such as Radeon Chill for power saving and AMD Link game streaming.

At the platform level, devices based on Ryzen Z1 processors support USB4, LPDDR5 and LPDDR5X RAM and, of course, Windows support, which opens up the entire ecosystem of games and play stores. Outside of Steam. The devices can also function as full-fledged computers running everyday Windows software, especially when connected to an external monitor, keyboard and mouse. According to AMD, users can use Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription service to play on the go.

No official performance, temperature, or battery life details have been released yet, but Asus’ announcement on May 11 should give potential buyers an idea of ​​what to expect. However, given AMD’s continued foray into the thin and light notebook space and its claims to deliver high-end graphics performance with its Ryzen 7xxx mobile processors, it will be interesting to see how it performs and if more manufacturers announce gaming laptops. in these processors. Before or after the next computer-focused trade show, Computex.