AMD: Ryzen Z1 processors get minimum tdp of 9W

AMD’s Z1 and Z1 Extreme CPU get a minimum adjustable tdp of 9W. The maximum adjustable tdp will be 30W. The chipset would not be able to use the Ryzen AI engine that can be found on other AMD APUs. That engine is disabled.

The American company shared this information with the editors of Tom’s Hardware. A spokesperson confirmed that the underlying technology of the Z1 and Z1 Extreme processors is similar to that of AMD’s Ryzen 5 7040U APUs, but that the two chipsets are also significantly different. “The Z1 SOCs were developed with handheld gaming in mind, so our engineers validated a new current range and optimized the voltage curves of the Z1 processors.”

AMD then said that the minimum adjustable tdp of the Z1 and Z1 Extreme will be 9W, while the maximum adjustable tdp will be 30W. With the Ryzen 7040U APUs, the minimum TDP is 15W; the maximum tdp is also 30W with this apu. By comparison, the Steam Deck features a custom Zen 2 APU from AMD codenamed Aerith. This apu has a minimum adjustable tdp of 4W and a maximum adjustable tdp of 15W. Tdp stands for thermal design power and indicates how much energy a chipset can use in a given scenario. The higher the wattage, the better the performance usually becomes. But then the chipset eventually also gets warmer.

AMD shared details about the Ryzen Z1 processors at the end of April. The regular Z1 has six Zen 4 cores, an integrated RDNA 3 GPU with four compute units and 22MB cache. The Extreme variant has eight cores, a more powerful GPU with twelve CUs and 24MB cache. The Ryzen Z1 series is specifically for PC gaming handhelds, according to AMD. The processors would therefore be optimized for a relatively high battery life, among other things. The Z1 processors will be used first in the upcoming ROG Ally gaming handheld, which manufacturer ASUS will share more details on May 11.

Update, 3.05 pm: ‘minimum tdp’ and ‘maximum tdp’ have been replaced by ‘minimum adjustable tdp’ and ‘maximum adjustable tdp’. These terms are more suitable as a translation for the term ‘Configurable TDP’ that AMD on its website used.

AMD Ryzen Z1