At the start of 2025, during the annual CES event, AMD launched the successors to its popular Ryzen Z1 and Z1 Extreme APUs. These all-in-one CPU+GPU chips have been powering the very best handheld gaming PCs since they first appeared, so we've been keen to see just how much better the new Z2 models are. Thanks to one tech YouTube channel, we now know the answer: it's good, it's a bit disappointing, and it's entirely as expected.
When chatting about handheld gaming PCs with friends and family, I'm often asked by the more tech-savvy amongst them about why AMD doesn't add a bigger GPU to its APU chips. As the saying goes, pictures speak a thousand words, so videos must speak them all. Tech YouTube channel ETA Prime has pitched a Ryzen Z2 Extreme-powered MSI Claw A8 against an Asus ROG Ally X, which uses the previous generation Ryzen Z1 Extreme.
