AMD Ryzen Z2 Go APU Compared to Z1 Extreme: 10% Slower Overall
Fps Vn—a gaming hardware YouTube channel—has managed to get their hands on an early sample of Lenovo's Legion Go S handheld system. This lower cost model was officially introduced at last week's CES trade event—with a notable specification shared across SteamOS and Windows 11 variants: AMD's Ryzen Z2 Go APU. This processor sits at the bottom of Team Red's latest line of "Strix Point" and "Phoenix Point" gaming-oriented SoCs. The Ryzen Z2 Go chipset—featuring Zen 3 processor and RDNA 2 graphics technologies—is based on Team Red's older "Phoenix 2" silicon. Fps Vn decided to compare this lower-end 4-core/8-thread APU with a widely available sibling: the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme (a Zen 4 and RDNA 3-based processor).
Their Lenovo Legion Go S sample model (Ryzen Z2 Go) was lined up against the ASUS ROG Ally X (Ryzen Z1 Extreme)—tests were performed in Black Myth: Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077 and Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut. Gaming benchmarks indicate an overall 9 to 10% performance deficit for the budget-friendly APU. The results are quite impressive; given that the Ryzen Z2 Go SoC utilizes an older processor technology (Zen 3 vs Zen 4), sports a lower core count (four vs. eight), and is only capable of boosting up to 4.3 GHz (Z1 Extreme hits a maximum clock of 5.1 GHz). Reflecting on these early performance results, potential customers are invited to inspect the gulf in pricing. Leaks indicate that the Legion Go S SteamOS model being priced at $499, while an alleged $100 upcharge grants access to a Windows 11 variant ($599). The price-to-performance ratio favors Lenovo's upcoming entry-level models, but ASUS could reduce the ROG Ally X's entry fee in the coming months—this flagship device originally launched with an MSRP of $799.
Their Lenovo Legion Go S sample model (Ryzen Z2 Go) was lined up against the ASUS ROG Ally X (Ryzen Z1 Extreme)—tests were performed in Black Myth: Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077 and Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut. Gaming benchmarks indicate an overall 9 to 10% performance deficit for the budget-friendly APU. The results are quite impressive; given that the Ryzen Z2 Go SoC utilizes an older processor technology (Zen 3 vs Zen 4), sports a lower core count (four vs. eight), and is only capable of boosting up to 4.3 GHz (Z1 Extreme hits a maximum clock of 5.1 GHz). Reflecting on these early performance results, potential customers are invited to inspect the gulf in pricing. Leaks indicate that the Legion Go S SteamOS model being priced at $499, while an alleged $100 upcharge grants access to a Windows 11 variant ($599). The price-to-performance ratio favors Lenovo's upcoming entry-level models, but ASUS could reduce the ROG Ally X's entry fee in the coming months—this flagship device originally launched with an MSRP of $799.
