AMD "Ryzen Z2 A" APU Could Utilize Older "Van Gogh" RDNA 2 iGPU

[T0@st]

Two weeks ago, unannounced APU model names—"Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme" and "Ryzen Z2 A"—were leaked by Hoang Anh Phu. AMD introduced its Ryzen Z2 series at CES 2025; officially consisting of three options: Z2 Extreme, Z2 and Z2 Go. Technical make up of the two alleged new additions remained a mystery, but watchdog theorizations positioned the rumored "Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme" as the (expanded) lineup's flagship—likely due to the enablement of an integrated XDNA 2 NPU. The vanilla Z2 Extreme APU is a handheld gaming-oriented product; existing as a spin-off from Team Red's "Strix Point" mobile processor design—utilizing Zen 5 and RDNA 3.5 technologies. By similar deduction, the leaked "Ryzen Z2 A" SKU was viewed as a "Hawk Point" (Zen 4 + RDNA 3) processor, possibly with a "switched on" AI aspect. Earlier today Hoang Anh Phu provided a new follow-up claim—this morning's social media post proposes a return to "Van Gogh" pastures.

The not-yet-official "Ryzen Z2 A" APU design could be derived from the Steam Deck's Zen 2 + RDNA 2 package. Valve and AMD's collaboration resulted in the "Van Gogh" custom chip design—also known as "Aerith"—debuting back in 2022. A die shrink—from 7 nm to 6 nm—arrived in the form of Steam Deck OLED's "Sephiroth" chipset (2023). Phu's latest prediction places the "Ryzen Z2 A" closer to the already unveiled Ryzen Z2 Go, graphics technology-wise. As discussed in the past, this entry-level "Phoenix 2" solution sports an RDNA 2 iGPU, albeit paired with Zen 3 processor cores. The Ryzen Z2 Go chipset powers Lenovo's Legion Go S handheld gaming PC—in the near future, this offering will be made available with two different operating system options: Windows 11 or SteamOS. As extrapolated from Phu's fresh prediction, similar-ish lower end devices—prepped with Valve's proprietary OS—could arrive with "Ryzen Z2 A" APUs onboard.



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[john_]

This is a nice little APU to popularize Steam OS faster, if it gets adopted from multiple, probably smaller, handheld designers. Being the center of Steam Deck from the start, I can see handhelds integrating Steam OS and be ready to go from day 1.
That being said, it's old and it should be seen in handhelds that will be costing probably less than $500 or even $400.

 

[RaphaelOne]

RDNA2 is modern enough for current games. It has a good FSR scaler + efficient frame generator. Close to the release of RDNA3, the RT Gen1 cores in RDNA2 received their first major update and significant performance boost.
Speaking of modern GPU algorithms, I successfully ran a stable and efficient frame generator + a range of scalers including FSR v1 on a Vega7 (GCN5) mobile iGPU using the LLS v3.0 LossLessScaling program from Steam. The developers of the application recommend the RDNA2+ GPU for full functionality and performance. However, the test on Ryzen7 4700U with Vega7 iGPU showed that even GCN5 can see significant performance (and graphics subsystem energy efficiency) boosts with the help of a modern frame generator and resolution scaler. For small iGPUs, this means entering new performance territory. LLS offers a total of 9 scalers, including two scalers for 2D graphics.

 

[tvshacker]

This is a nice little APU to popularize Steam OS faster, if it gets adopted from multiple, probably smaller, handheld designers. Being the center of Steam Deck from the start, I can see handhelds integrating Steam OS and be ready to go from day 1.
That being said, it's old and it should be seen in handhelds that will be costing probably less than $500 or even $400.

I saw the OG ROG Ally recently discounted to 500€. I'm not sure if it still has all the hardware issues that plagued the first hardware revisions, but performance wise should still be much better than the Z2 Go and "Z2 A" presented.

 

[Cheeseball]

I don't see the point of another lower end APU. Just use the current Ryzen Z2 Go APU (4C/8T Zen 3+, 12 CU RDNA2) which is still better than Aerith/Sephiroth (4C/8T Zen 2, 8 CU RDNA2) and not as costly as the Z1 Extreme (8C/16T Zen 4, 12 CU RDNA3).