AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 Processor to Power SMACH Z Handheld Gaming PC

[VSG]

Remember the SMACH Z? Me neither. It was a long attempt in the making, with multiple Kickstarter campaigns that finally resulted in an actual product coming to market later this year. The SMACH Z is a handheld gaming PC with an x86 processor, that was originally supposed to use a 5" 720p screen powered off an AMD G-series SoC (System on a Chip). It was then updated to use an AMD Merlin Falcon (Excavator) R-Series RX-421BD clocked at 2.1 GHz SoC with an integrated Radeon R7 series GPU at 800 MHz to run a 6" 1080p display, that was in turn embedded in a handheld gaming console, effectively making it a portable gaming PC. Perhaps it was a good thing that the product took its time, since they have now decided to use updated internals for the final product- once more from AMD- in the form of the Ryzen Embedded V1605B SoC with AMD Radeon Vega 8 graphics.

eBOM reports that AMD has announced it will be showcasing the SMACH Z in their booth presence at the Tokyo Game Show which commences later this week. This marks yet another gaming platform that AMD will be powering, although it is less powerful than the other ones. The SMACH Z is available for pre-order in three different variants (Z, Z Pro, and Z Ultra) which have different starting configurations, but can be customized as with most pre-built PCs. All variants can run off the Linux-based SMACH OS or Windows 10, retain the 6" 1080p touch screen, support up to 16 GB of dual channel DDR4 memory and 256 GB of solid state storage, and have an optional camera as well. Prices begin at $699 and go up to $1199, with a 10% discount for pre-order for the console expected to be available December, 2018. For those interested, there are some preliminary benchmarks released by SMACH from earlier this year.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Fleurious]

What kind of name is SMACH Z? Is it an acronym for something?

 

[VSG]

What kind of name is SMACH Z? Is it an acronym for something?

Not that I know of, the company uses that everywhere as-is.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

For a second there i thought they done another deal with Sony to bring out a new PSP.

 

[jeremyshaw]

What kind of name is SMACH Z? Is it an acronym for something?

Steam Machine. It's been that long. One has to go all the way back to when it was going to run Steam OS and used Steam Controller parts to handle the input.

Either way, where does AMD say they are showcasing this fraud? It's on none of AMD's social media pages, nor their newsroom.

 

[Durvelle27]

Very interesting indeed

I’d buy one if it wasn’t for that tag

 

[Patriot]

Stop giving this vaporware airtime please...

 

[king of swag187]

Its already have been proven to be nothing more than vapourware something over a year ago, it really annoys me it still gets coverage

 

[StrayKAT]

Even as vaporware, it sucks. Who wants that big thing for a handheld?

edit: Also, the Steam Controller sucks. So anything based on it sucks too.

I have one and still wouldn't waste my time to wrap it up and give it away on this board.

 

[king of swag187]

Whats really funny is the guy who exposed them also found lots of evidence that all they did was just take out the Steam Controller's "joysticks" and stick them in that 3D printed case, as well as stuffing a tablet board into it. He made like 3 videos over the course of the campaign, they're pretty funny surprisingly. As for that steam controller, I'd take it for free plus shipping if you're willing

 

[StrayKAT]

Whats really funny is the guy who exposed them also found lots of evidence that all they did was just take out the Steam Controller's "joysticks" and stick them in that 3D printed case, as well as stuffing a tablet board into it. He made like 3 videos over the course of the campaign, they're pretty funny surprisingly. As for that steam controller, I'd take it for free plus shipping if you're willing

I've never actually made a shipment before..so I'm already lazy.. and this doesn't compel me.

It's really not good though imo. Think of it as me sparing you.

 

[king of swag187]

Twas' nothing but a joke, like this and that controller. Besides, I already have all of the main consoles right now, and honestly I like the Switchs Joy Cons alot ,with my Dualshock 4 coming 2nd, and my Xbox One controller coming last. The general build of the One controller feels cheap and plasticy and gets greasy asap compared to even the DS4

 

[jeremyshaw]

Twas' nothing but a joke, like this and that controller. Besides, I already have all of the main consoles right now, and honestly I like the Switchs Joy Cons alot ,with my Dualshock 4 coming 2nd, and my Xbox One controller coming last. The general build of the One controller feels cheap and plasticy and gets greasy asap compared to even the DS4

I'm butting in, but I agree, the One controller just has very cheep feeling plastic. The ergonomics are better than the X360 (excising the back battery hump was a big improvement). However, the plastics in the later X360 controllers (particularly the silver one with extended battery life and the "twist" D-pad) already felt fragile compared to launch era controllers. The Xbone was amazingly worse in that respect. I remember being surprised on launch day.

The Switch Pro controller has a slight edge in ergonomics, IMO, but it also is the newest. The +, -, and Home buttons are somewhat poorly placed, but it's face buttons and joysticks are perfectly positioned (so far; IMO).

 

[silentbogo]

Holy shit, good thing I did not see this earlier... my brain is exploding right now.
"Misinformation" is pretty much written all over their website. Ryzen V1000 series is a friggin big and hot APU for a portable console. It has a configurable TDP of 12-25W on the lower end, which is wa-a-ay too much for a 6" portable device. Even Nintendo had to limit the TDP of Tegra X1 in Switch and add active cooling to avoid overheating and battery explosions.
At the same time they market a 3.6GHz boost frequency, which is an absolute max for a single core on a TDP-uncapped chip (that's from V1605B spec in AMD's datasheet).
There are many other BS moments there (battery life etc), but I ain't gonna deep-dive into this pile of shit.

 

[Caring1]

Facts won't sell this, only impressive numbers will

 

[StrayKAT]

The general build of the One controller feels cheap and plasticy and gets greasy asap compared to even the DS4

I liked the 360 controller much more. Felt more solid. I still prefer XOne (compared to PS4) however because it's still big like the 360 and nicely integrated into Windows.

 

[newtekie1]

Holy shit, good thing I did not see this earlier... my brain is exploding right now.
"Misinformation" is pretty much written all over their website. Ryzen V1000 series is a friggin big and hot APU for a portable console. It has a configurable TDP of 12-25W on the lower end, which is wa-a-ay too much for a 6" portable device. Even Nintendo had to limit the TDP of Tegra X1 in Switch and add active cooling to avoid overheating and battery explosions.
At the same time they market a 3.6GHz boost frequency, which is an absolute max for a single core on a TDP-uncapped chip (that's from V1605B spec in AMD's datasheet).
There are many other BS moments there (battery life etc), but I ain't gonna deep-dive into this pile of shit.

Don't forget that it is already struggling to produce playable framerates in games that are several years old, even at 720p...

 

[silentbogo]

Don't forget that it is already struggling to produce playable framerates in games that are several years old, even at 720p...

That's if we also disregard the fact that they never had a real working prototype (after almost 3 years in a making and a Kickstarter ban suspension). I think these guys have managed to beat Atari VCS with the amount of bullshit fed to backers

Steam Machine. It's been that long. One has to go all the way back to when it was going to run Steam OS and used Steam Controller parts to handle the input.

I like it's other name : STEAMBOY

 

[Kaotik]

Did I just step through a time machine? This was news in February

 

[silentbogo]

Did I just step through a time machine? This was news in February

Of which year?

 

[TheTechGuy1337]

Why not just buy a gaming laptop at this price point??? It's both portable, get more for the money, and much better specs. It is way too expensive for a portable device of that size. I like the idea, but it isn't worth the price tag.

 

[king of swag187]

Because even a thin and light gaming laptop is still in a laptop form factor. Besides, this is a scam anyways

 

[Vayra86]

Gobsmached

 

[Kaotik]

Of which year?

Smach Z perhaps every year but the fact that it uses Ryzen V1000 Embedded APU was confirmed this years February

 

[lexluthermiester]

Even as vaporware, it sucks. Who wants that big thing for a handheld?

Not sure where all this "vaporware" talk is coming from, but I'd love to have one.