Sure, here you go:
So I’m minding my own business, scrolling through some tech stuff, and I stumble on this showdown between two big names in handheld gaming. It’s like watching an old-west duel but with chips, not cowboys. AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme against Intel’s Core Ultra 7 258V. What a match-up, right? They tested these chips at different power limits. We’re talking the crucial 17-watt range—where efficiency reigns, apparently. Anyway, the AMD chip didn’t just hold its ground, it actually leaped ahead. How about that?
Now, funny thing about handheld PCs—efficiency is their lifeline. And with both these bad boys priced about the same—like $900 to $1000—it boils down to performance-per-watt. In the 17-watt spotlight, you’re looking at a tricky dance of delivering smooth gameplay without wiping out the battery. Historically, Intel was the boss here. AMD? Not so much. Their past chips flopped when power budgets scrunched under 20 watts. Those were meant for laptops, not these handhelds. But this time, the review says things have changed.
AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme is like their superhero SoC for handhelds. We’re talking eight cores, sixteen threads—it sounds all fancy, with its Zen 5 base, and some performance versus efficiency core setup. Three performance cores and five efficiency cores rockin’ up to 5 GHz. And with sixteen RDNA 3.5 compute units, it’s like having a Radeon 890M GPU loaded in. Manufactured on TSMC’s 4nm process—global leaders there, right? But, oh, it uses external memory seated on the device’s PCB. Meaning the device has to account for memory’s power consumption on its own.
Then there’s Intel’s Core Ultra 7 258V. Built on TSMC’s N3B node (yes, I checked that). It’s got a hybrid core layout too, using these Xe2 graphics (Arc-based for the tech nerds). But it targets slightly lower TDP ceilings and has fewer customization levers for OEMs. This chip has its memory embedded in the chip’s package—neat, huh?—so, its power consumption readings include that bit too.
I was scratching my head—does the reviewer even know if they factored in how the Lunar Lake’s 17W includes its memory? Meanwhile, the Ryzen doesn’t? That could mean AMD’s really sucking more power overall. Curious.
Okay, testing time. They start with a power-efficiency curve, eyeing how performance scales with wattage. At just 10 watts, the Z2 Extreme was already soaring—over 20 FPS in the GR Extreme benchmark. An 80% jump from last year’s Z1 Extreme’s measly 11.5 FPS under the same condition. Wild. Although, there’s this twist. Under a default power setup, the curve did weird tricks after 30 watts, regressing frame rates. Mighty strange.
Context refresher: FPPT is Fast Package Power Tracking, SPPT is Slow Package Power Tracking, and SPL is the sustained power limit. If they’re all even, the CPU might hog more power than it needs, short-changing the GPU. So that’s what messed things up. The fix was to lock SPPT at 48 watts. It’s just a five-second turbo, so battery life sighed in relief, I’m sure. Once adjusted, normalcy resumed—but 17 watts revealed a surprise.
They tested with real-world games at 1080p, at that sacred 17 watts. And guess what? The numbers said it all.
Check it out:
- Monster Hunter Wilds: AMD 31.8 FPS, Intel 25.7 FPS
- Cyberpunk 2077: AMD 43.6 FPS, Intel 41.7 FPS
- Resident Evil Village: AMD 65.6 FPS, Intel 58.0 FPS
- Far Cry 6: AMD 31.2 FPS, Intel 30.9 FPS
AMD had stronger 1% lows too. Felt smoother, they said. Reviewer even apologized! Said they underestimated AMD’s mobile SoCs.
Now if you’re pushing beyond into the 30-watt horizon, the gap closes, but doesn’t vanish. AMD still led by around 6%, but Intel scored solo wins in some games. This brawl was kinda expected because Z2 Extreme’s scaling plateaus after 20 watts. Intel gains more from extra power, yet it wasn’t enough to grab lead honors.
It’s a big shake-up, this. These architectural tweaks by AMD—hybrid cores, RDNA 3.5 graphics, and that 4nm process—turn Z2 Extreme into a beast under 20 watts. Intel stands firm at ultra-low power spots around 10 watts, hanging onto some edge in strict battery-saving mode. But in the 15 to 20 watts crowd, AMD’s the frontrunner—unless power readings for Lunar Lake play shenanigans with its onboard memory figures.
Oh, and here’s a trick for you power-heads: lock all threads to those tiny efficiency cores. Gave a 10% performance boost at lower powers per tests. So AMD’s upped its game in the hot zones, while Intel’s Lunar Lake still shines in uber-low or snoozy states.
If you’re considering MSI’s Claw A8 versus Claw 8 AI+, since their tags flash similar prices, the Z2 Extreme variant packs a stronger GPU punch and steadier frame pacing. Plus, a 35W TDP ceiling when anchored up.
So, what do you think? Got sidetracked a bit there. Anyway, that’s the scoop.
