3 reasons why gaming handhelds prefer AMD chipsets

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The market is flooded with PC gaming handhelds, but with a few notable exceptions, they all have one thing in common. These are the APUs that power them, which are manufactured by AMD, either from device-specific custom silicon or more general purpose APUs. The Steam Deck features a custom APU, the ROG Ally, and ROG Ally X use variations of the AMD Z1 chip, as do the Legion Go and a variety of other brands AMD's laptop APUs at the heart of their handheld ambitions. The picture won't change in the near future, with the Z2 Extreme chip available “soon” and more AMD laptop chips in the pipeline.



3 Custom made silicone

AMD is easier to work with

AMD powers most of this generation's PC gaming handhelds and most living room consoles for one important reason: They're willing to produce custom chips at a mass price based on the customer's needs. That's why you don't see Intel or Nvidia in the current Xbox or PlayStation, and why Valve chose AMD for the custom APU that powers both versions of the Steam Deck. Valve chose older Zen 2 CPU cores and powerful RDNA 2 GPU cores for the Steam Deck because they have enough knowledge of how games work to know exactly what hardware they need to boost their FPS -Achieve goals on your handheld. This combination of low power CPU and higher performance GPU perfectly matches the 800p resolution of the Steam Deck screen, providing a perfect experience for less intensive gaming on the go.


ryzen-z1-press-release-wire-image

AMD's custom silicon chips are also one of the reasons you see reused laptop chips in most other PC gaming handhelds. The AMD Ryzen Z1 and Z1 Extreme use a combination of Zen 4 or Zen 4c CPU cores with AMD RDNA 3 compute units for graphics processing. However, AMD designed these chips specifically for PC gaming handheld use, so they are likely more affordable for the OEM to use. While it costs money to get custom silicon right, Valve, Xbox and PlayStation can sell their hardware at slim margins because they make money from services and games. That's something other PC OEMs can't do, but AMD's development of the Z1 (and the soon-to-be-released Z2) makes it easier to design without going the custom route.


2 FreeSync support

Adaptive Sync is more useful on lower power devices

Armory Crate runs on the Asus ROG Ally X.

When an AMD APU is built into a PC gaming handheld, it has a variety of AMD technologies that can also be used on that device. Asus has this on both the ROG Ally and ROG Ally. This technology reduces screen tearing or jaggedness by synchronizing the screen's refresh rate with the FPS output by the graphics chip, ensuring buttery-smooth images regardless of the frequency with which the Monitor is updated.


While this is great technology for high-end gaming computers, it's even more useful for the relatively low-power hardware in gaming handhelds. FreeSync Premium Pro also offers some advantages such as: Features such as low frame rate compensation to prevent sync from disappearing when the frame rate is too low, and HDR support, giving you buttery smooth images while maintaining a beautiful visual experience. To be fair, the Intel-based MSI Claw also features Adaptive Sync with a 48-120Hz refresh rate screen. But that's currently the only Intel-based PC gaming handheld, while AMD-based models are plentiful are.

  • ASUS ROG Ally X 9

    Asus ROG Ally X

    The ROG Ally

  • Rendering of the Asus ROG Ally

    Asus ROG Ally

    The ROG Ally was one of the first Windows-based PC gaming handhelds to hit the market after the Steam Deck launched, and it has emerged as the main competitor with a gorgeous, fast screen with FreeSync and AMD Ryzen Z1 processors developed.


1 AMD's APU graphics are powerful

Even the non-custom laptop chips are better

AMD's latest laptop APUs, like the AMD Ryzen 7 8840U in the recently tested One Xplayer. In this case, the 30W chip isn't far off from the Ryzen Z1 Extreme found in the ROG Ally


In this case the The user can configure the APU to run at 15W or 30W, resulting in a significant increase in frame rates at the expense of power consumption. None of the games we tested are a 2x boost, but rather the experience in some titles Shadow of the Tomb Raider, was significantly improved at the higher wattage. Again, this isn't custom silicon, but a standard SKU that any OEM can use in a handheld console, and AMD has dozens to choose from. The relatively low power consumption might hurt them performance-wise when it comes to productive use, but they're perfect for handheld gaming and the lower expectations of gamers using these devices.

It's not just gaming handhelds that use AMD

Xbox Series X APU from AMD.

Source: Xbox


AMD powers most handheld PC gaming consoles, but the chipmaker also powers most living room consoles. The Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and 5 Pro, and the upcoming PlayStation 6 all feature AMD CPU and GPU technologies. While there aren't many leaks about the next Xbox hardware, it's a fair bet that it will also be powered by AMD. The next Steam Deck will likely feature AMD hardware as the two companies work closely together, and while Intel's new chips are good, the overall state of Chipzilla could make any custom work a no-go for some time. While Nvidia has the discrete GPU market under control, no one is going to take the console crown away from AMD for some time.

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