Tag: Ryzen Z2 Extreme

  • Lenovo Legion Go 2: New OLED Gaming Handheld with Ryzen Z2

    Lenovo Legion Go 2: New OLED Gaming Handheld with Ryzen Z2

    Key Takeaways

    1. Lenovo has expanded the availability of the Legion Go 2 in more regions after its debut at IFA 2025 in Berlin.
    2. The Legion Go 2 is now available in the UK, priced higher than the earlier Legion Go S model.
    3. The Legion Go 2 with Ryzen Z2 is priced at £899, while the Ryzen Z2 Extreme model costs £1,099.
    4. The Ryzen Z2 Extreme offers a storage upgrade from 512 GB to 1 TB.
    5. The Ryzen Z2 Extreme model is also available in Austria and Germany for approximately €1,495, including taxes.


    Lenovo has discreetly expanded the availability of the Legion Go 2 in more regions following its debut at IFA 2025 in Berlin earlier this month. Originally, the company stated that the newest gaming handheld would not be available in North America until November. However, shortly after, Best Buy started offering the Legion Go 2, which features Ryzen Z2 and Ryzen Z2 Extreme APUs.

    Availability and Pricing in the UK

    Now, both of these models are available in the UK, priced higher than the Legion Go S, which was released earlier this year (currently $649 on Amazon). Although Lenovo briefly listed the Legion Go 2 in the UK, it is currently only available through Very, the sole retailer for this gaming handheld at the moment.

    Confirmation of Pricing

    Very has now confirmed the pricing for the Legion Go 2, which was not disclosed during the IFA 2025 event. At present, the Legion Go 2 with the Ryzen Z2 can be purchased for £899, a chip that is roughly equivalent in power to the Ryzen Z1 Extreme.

    On the other hand, the Ryzen Z2 Extreme model is priced at £1,099, offering a storage upgrade from 512 GB to 1 TB. Similarly, this version can also be found in Austria and Germany for approximately €1,495, including taxes. For further information about Lenovo’s latest gaming handheld, check out our launch article, the tablet showcased below, and the video linked above.

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  • Asus ROG Xbox Ally Handhelds Earn Steam Deck Game Certification

    Asus ROG Xbox Ally Handhelds Earn Steam Deck Game Certification

    Key Takeaways

    1. The ROG Xbox Ally series will launch on October 16, 2025, featuring Ryzen Z2 Extreme and Z2 A gaming handhelds.
    2. The Xbox Ally with Ryzen Z2 A is designed for 720p gaming, while the Xbox Ally X with Z2 Extreme targets 1080p gaming.
    3. The handhelds are expected to run most games at frame rates between 30 FPS and 60 FPS.
    4. Microsoft introduced a game certification program similar to the Steam Deck, with various performance tiers.
    5. A new “handheld optimized” section will be added to the Xbox home screen to showcase games that meet specific performance criteria.


    The ROG Xbox Ally series has finally announced its release date. As we reported earlier, the new Ryzen Z2 Extreme and Z2 A gaming handhelds are set to launch on October 16, 2025. Microsoft has not only showcased the devices again but also provided an in-depth look at them. In their latest video, the company introduced a game certification program that is quite similar to the one used by the Steam Deck.

    Gaming Capabilities

    In the video, the team explains that the Xbox Ally with the Ryzen Z2 A is designed for 720p gaming, whereas the Xbox Ally X with the Z2 Extreme is aimed at 1080p gaming. Thanks to the powerful iGPUs of these APUs, the gaming handhelds are expected to run most titles at frame rates between 30 FPS and 60 FPS.

    Game Certification Program

    To help users understand how well games will perform on these handhelds, the ROG Ally X series will feature a game certification program akin to that of the Steam Deck. Microsoft has outlined the various tiers for this certification.

    In addition to the game performance certification, Microsoft has also introduced another label: “Handheld optimized.” This label is designated for games that meet specific criteria, such as:

    New Features on Xbox Home Screen

    Microsoft also notes that there will be a new “handheld optimized” section on the Xbox home screen. This section will display all games that satisfy the specified criteria. For more information about the new tags that will be introduced for the Asus ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, be sure to check out the video linked below.

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  • Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X Release Date Leaked Details

    Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X Release Date Leaked Details

    Key Takeaways

    1. Pre-order Timeline: Customers can pre-order the ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally from August 20 to 25, ahead of their unveiling at Gamescom.

    2. Release Date: Both devices will be available for purchase starting October 16, primarily in the European market, with a global launch expected around the same time.

    3. Pricing: The ROG Xbox Ally X is priced at $899, while the ROG Xbox Ally starts at $599, differing in RAM and storage capacity.

    4. Performance Differences: The ROG Xbox Ally X features a more advanced Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip, while the standard ROG Xbox Ally uses the older Ryzen Z2 A chip, affecting gaming performance.

    5. Storage Options: The ROG Xbox Ally X offers 1 TB of storage and 24 GB of RAM, while the ROG Xbox Ally has 512 GB of storage and 16 GB of RAM, with limited upgrade options for buyers.


    Previous leaks have shared the pre-order timeline for the ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally. It was mentioned that customers could book either handheld device between August 20 and 25, just in time for their unveiling at Gamescom. Now, Dealabs has revealed when these devices will actually be available for sale to everyone.

    Release Date

    The ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally will be available for purchase starting on October 16, which is almost two months after their first announcement. This date is specific to the European market, but it’s expected that the global launch will align. Waiting two months from the announcement to the launch seems like a long time, especially since products powered by the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, like the MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM, are already on the market.

    Pricing Details

    Another leak suggested that the starting price for the ROG Xbox Ally X would be $899, while the ROG Xbox Ally would begin at $599. The former includes 24 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1 TB of storage, while the latter offers 16 GB of RAM with 512 GB of storage. Currently, MSI’s website doesn’t show any other variations, which means buyers will be limited to the existing high-speed storage unless they opt for a complete SSD replacement. Alternatively, users could add a SD card using the UHS-II microSD card reader for older games that don’t require fast read/write speeds.

    Performance Differences

    Aside from RAM and storage, the main distinction between the ROG Xbox Ally and the ROG Xbox Ally X lies in their System on Chips (SoCs). The Ryzen Z2 A in the latter is a somewhat older chip featuring a Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 integrated graphics, which may struggle to match the more advanced Zen 5 and RDNA 3.5 components in the former’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme. Overall, the standard ROG Xbox Ally appears to be a less appealing option compared to its more powerful sibling, particularly for 1080p gaming.

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  • MSI Claw A8 GPU vs RTX 2050: Cyberpunk 2077 Performance at 17W

    MSI Claw A8 GPU vs RTX 2050: Cyberpunk 2077 Performance at 17W

    Key Takeaways

    1. New APU Technology: The MSI Claw A8 features the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU, based on Zen 5 architecture, with 8 cores and 16 threads, and an RDNA 3.5 integrated GPU.

    2. Performance Comparison: In benchmark tests, the Z2 Extreme outperforms the older Z1 Extreme, scoring higher in both 3DMark and Geekbench tests.

    3. Gaming Performance: The Claw A8 achieves around 80 FPS in Forza Horizon 5 at 1200p and shows improved FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 compared to the Z1 Extreme.

    4. Battery Life: The device offers impressive battery life, potentially exceeding 9 hours under low TDP settings while maintaining good performance.

    5. Display and Storage: It features an 8-inch 1920×1200 IPS display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and has a user-upgradable 1 TB M.2 2280 SSD.


    YouTuber ETA Prime has shared a first-look video of the MSI Claw A8, marking the company’s debut into AMD-powered handhelds with the innovative Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU. In this video, he does a direct comparison with a handheld that features the previous Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor to see how the performance stacks up.

    Specifications and Performance

    The MSI Claw A8 runs on the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU, which is based on the Zen 5 architecture and boasts 8 cores and 16 threads. It also has an RDNA 3.5 integrated GPU with 16 compute units, specifically the Radeon 890M. This handheld device comes equipped with 24 GB of LPDDR5X RAM operating at 8000 MHz. Of this, 8 GB is dedicated to the GPU by default, leaving 16 GB for general system use. Users can change the memory allocation if they see fit.

    Benchmark Tests

    ETA Prime evaluates the MSI Claw A8 through synthetic benchmarks and game comparisons, putting the Z2 Extreme APU head-to-head with the older Z1 Extreme. In the 3DMark Time Spy test at a 17 W TDP, the Z1E scores 2917, whereas the Z2E achieves 3495 points. At 25 W, the Z1E hits 3017, while the Z2E reaches 3666.

    The YouTuber also conducts Geekbench 6 tests at a 30 W TDP, where the Z2E scores 2,781 in single-core and 12,086 in multi-core tests. In 3DMark Time Spy at 30 W, the APU scores 4066, which is slightly below the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 in his Lenovo LOQ laptop, which scored 4348.

    Gaming Performance

    In practical gaming scenarios, Forza Horizon 5 runs at about 80 FPS on average at 1200p with Medium settings and a 17 W TDP. Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2077, tested at 900p using the Steam Deck preset, shows 35.5 FPS on the Z1E and 45.6 FPS on the Z2E, with both setups using 8 GB of VRAM at 17 W.

    When tested at 1600p with Medium settings, IGTI upscaling, and a 25 W TDP, Spider-Man Remastered initially has trouble maintaining 60 FPS. However, enabling FSR frame generation boosts performance to over 75 FPS at the same resolution.

    At a 6 W TDP, while playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge with RGB lighting turned off and screen brightness set to 50%, the system consumes between 8.1 and 8.7 watts, leading to an estimated battery life of over 9 hours, according to ETA Prime. Even with the default 17 W performance setting, the Claw A8 is said to provide impressive endurance.

    Additional Features

    The MSI Claw A8 features a user-upgradable 1 TB M.2 2280 SSD. It also has an 8-inch 1920×1200 IPS display that supports a 120 Hz refresh rate and variable refresh rate (VRR), the same kind of panel used in the MSI Claw 8 AI, which is powered by Intel, and the Lenovo Legion Go S.

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  • AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme Leaks on Geekbench with MSI Claw Handheld

    AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme Leaks on Geekbench with MSI Claw Handheld

    Key Takeaways

    1. AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU is built on the Strix Point architecture and features two CPU clusters: three Zen 5 cores and five Zen 5c cores.
    2. In Geekbench 6.4, the Ryzen Z2 Extreme achieved single-core and multi-core scores of 2,748 and 12,182, respectively, outperforming the previous Ryzen Z1 Extreme.
    3. The APU’s boost clock is capped at 4.3 GHz, lower than the promised 5.0 GHz.
    4. It has 16 GB of DDR5 memory running at a relatively slow 1,944 MT/s.
    5. The integrated Radeon 890M GPU shows significant performance improvements, scoring 45,064 in Vulkan and 37,970 in OpenCL tests, making it up to 52% faster than the Radeon 780M.


    AMD has been, and continues to be, quite secretive about the details of its upcoming Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU designed for handheld gaming devices. Earlier speculations suggested that this APU would be built on Team Red’s latest Strix Point architecture. A recent listing on Geekbench supports this theory by showing two separate CPU clusters: one featuring three cores (likely Zen 5) and another with five Zen 5c cores. This chip is set to power MSI’s new AMD-based Claw 8, which has already been tested with the same processor.

    Performance Scores

    In Geekbench 6.4, it achieved scores of 2,748 for single-core and 12,182 for multi-core performance. In comparison, the previous Ryzen Z1 Extreme managed scores of 2,534 and 11,358 in the same test. A quick look at its Geekbench listing suggests that the Ryzen Z2 Extreme is not operating at its promised boost clock of around 5.0 GHz, as this sample is capped at 4.3 GHz.

    Memory Specifications

    The Geekbench listing also indicates that the 16 GB of memory runs at 1,944 MT/s, which is considered quite slow for DDR5 memory. The Ryzen Z2 Extreme includes AMD’s RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 890M integrated GPU. It scored 45,064 and 37,970 points in Geekbench’s Vulkan and OpenCL tests, respectively, making it potentially up to 52% faster than the previous generation Radeon 780M. Overall, this chip appears to be a strong contender, and it will be fascinating to see how it performs at lower power levels.

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  • Lenovo Legion Go 2 Release Date Revealed in New Leak

    Lenovo Legion Go 2 Release Date Revealed in New Leak

    Key Takeaways

    1. The Lenovo Legion Go 2 is expected to launch in September, based on information from a Lenovo LATM representative.
    2. It will compete with the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X, which are also powered by AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme SoC.
    3. The Legion Go 2 may support SteamOS, which has shown advantages over traditional Windows-based handhelds.
    4. Other upcoming handhelds include the MSI Claw 8, with all three devices featuring the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, but none have confirmed pricing yet.
    5. AMD has expanded the Ryzen Z2 lineup with new models, but the standard Ryzen Z2 is not expected in upcoming handhelds from popular brands.


    The Lenovo Legion Go 2 was revealed earlier this year as one of the first handheld devices powered by AMD’s new Ryzen Z2 Extreme SoC. However, the version showcased was just a prototype, and no details about its price or release date were available. Recently, a user on Reddit (via Videocardz) uncovered some of this missing information.

    Expected Release Date

    In response to a customer inquiry, a Lenovo LATM (Latin America) representative mentioned that the Legion Go 2 is expected to be available in September. Typically, these handhelds launch globally at the same time, so it’s reasonable to think that this could be the worldwide launch date. That said, this information should be taken lightly, as support personnel often misinterpret these details. Still, a September release for the Legion Go 2 seems quite logical.

    Competition Ahead

    The launch will coincide with the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X, positioning it as a strong contender among Ryzen Z2-branded consoles. While the Legion Go 2 may not come with SteamOS pre-installed, it’s likely to offer support for it right from the start. So far, SteamOS has shown to be superior to traditional Windows-based handhelds, and it’ll be fascinating to see if it can maintain its edge against the ROG Xbox Ally’s new streamlined OS version.

    Other Handhelds on the Horizon

    There’s also the MSI Claw 8, which could be released around the same time. At this point, these three handhelds are the only ones on the market featuring a Ryzen Z2 Extreme, at least from popular brands. Notably, none of them have confirmed pricing yet, and if the ROG Xbox Ally is any indication, they are likely to be pricey.

    This may explain why AMD has recently broadened the Ryzen Z2 lineup with two new models: a high-end Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme and a Ryzen Z2A, which is based on the older Zen 2 architecture that powered the Steam Deck. Interestingly, the standard Ryzen Z2 appears to be absent from any upcoming handhelds, even from lesser-known manufacturers like Ayaneo, Aokzoe, and OneXPlayer.

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  • Asus ROG Ally 2 Leaked Specs: 50% Larger Battery for Gaming Handheld

    Asus ROG Ally 2 Leaked Specs: 50% Larger Battery for Gaming Handheld

    Key Takeaways

    1. Asus is introducing two new ROG Ally gaming handheld models, replacing the original ROG Ally but not the ROG Ally X.
    2. The black model (RC73XA) will feature the Ryzen Z2 Extreme chipset, while the white model (RC73YA) will likely have a quad-core AMD Aerith Plus APU.
    3. The black model is expected to include 2 TB of storage and 64 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, while the white model will have 1 TB of storage and 16 GB of RAM.
    4. The white version will have a 60 Wh battery, a 50% increase from the original, and both models will feature 7-inch displays, with the black model offering 1080p resolution and 120 Hz refresh rate.
    5. The black model may be marketed as the ROG Ally 2 (Xbox Edition) and will be more powerful than the white variant, but release dates for both models are still unannounced.


    Earlier today, images of two new Asus ROG Ally gaming handhelds were seen online. It appears that these new models will only take the place of the original ROG Ally, not the ROG Ally X as well. From what we’ve talked about earlier, only the black model (RC73XA) shown above is expected to feature AMD’s much-anticipated Ryzen Z2 Extreme chipset.

    Additional Specifications

    Thanks to some digging by @94G8LA, we can now learn a bit more about both models. For instance, Asus seems to be pairing the Ryzen Z2 Extreme with 2 TB of M.2 2280 storage and a maximum of 64 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, which is clocked at an impressive 8,533 MT/s. On the other hand, the white model (RC73YA) is likely to come with 1 TB of storage and 16 GB of RAM.

    Battery and Display Features

    Moreover, the screenshot below indicates that the white version will have a 60 Wh battery, which is a 50% increase in capacity compared to the original ROG Ally (currently priced at $549.99 on Amazon). Both ROG Ally 2 models seem to be equipped with 7-inch displays made by BOE. However, we can only see that the black variant will have a 1080p resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate.

    According to @94G8LA, the black model might actually be introduced as the ROG Ally 2 (Xbox Edition). While the precise function of its dedicated Xbox button is still unclear, the device is expected to be more powerful than the white version. Right now, it looks like the white variant will use a quad-core AMD Aerith Plus APU with a 20 W TDP, while the Ryzen Z2 Extreme in the black version has a 36 W TDP. No information regarding the release dates has been shared yet either.

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