AMD Ryzen Z1 vs Ryzen Z1 Extreme – 44% Gain Makes the “Extreme” Name Deserved

LaptopMedia.com Comparisons AMD Ryzen Z1 vs Ryzen Z1 Extreme - 44% Gain Makes the "Extreme" Name Deserved

From: Simeon Nikolov 21 April 2024 / 18:30 | 0

The AMD Ryzen Z1 and Z1 Extreme processors are the heart of the wave in handheld gaming, offering PC-quality performance in a portable form factor.

The top handheld gaming consoles, ASUS ROG Ally (in-depth review) and Lenovo Legion Go (in-depth review), feature these processors. If you’re considering a portable console, you might be curious about the differences between the two chips.

While we’re preparing a detailed comparison of the ROG Ally and Legion Go, let’s first examine their processors more closely. The Ryzen Z1 Extreme sounds more powerful than the Z1, but what does that really mean?

Specs Sheet

Here’s a straightforward technical comparison of the two CPUs’ specs. The Z1 Extreme offers 33% more cores and threads, triple the graphics cores, 9% more cache, and a slightly higher frequency.

	AMD Ryzen Z1	AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme
Cores / Threads	6/12	8/16
AMD RDNA 3 Compute Units	4	12
L2 + L3 Cache (MB)	22	24
TDP (W)	9-30W	9-30W
Base Clock	3.2 GHz	3.3 GHz
Max. Boost Clock	Up to 4.9 GHz	Up to 5.1 GHz
Graphics Core Count	4	12

Turns out that the Z1 Extreme is *almost* identical to the Ryzen 7840U we’ve tested in full-fledged laptops like the Acer Swift Edge. Yes, it’s not a gaming machine but putting its power in a 7-inch chassis is more than impressive. On the other hand, the non-Extreme Z1 is *almost* identical to AMD Ryzen 5 7540U.

Specifications	AMD Ryzen Z1	AMD Ryzen 5 7540U	AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme	AMD Ryzen 7 7840U
AMD XDNA Architecture	No	No	No	Yes
Cores/Threads	6/12	6/12	8/16	8/16
Base Clock	3.2 GHz	3.2 GHz	3.3 GHz	3.3 GHz
Boost Clock (up to)	4.9 GHz	4.9 GHz	5.1 GHz	5.1 GHz
Cache	22MB	22MB	24MB	24MB
TDP	9-30W	15-30W	9-30W	15-30W
RDNA 3 Compute Units	4	4	12	12

So…what are the differences? AMD has just used the same chips by tweaking them for handheld use by disabling the XDNA AI unit for the Z1 Extreme and adjusting the voltage curves. Z1 and Z1 Extreme can lower their TDP to 9W and that makes the battery life longer.

Both Z1 variants boast the same 4nm manufacturing process and support for AMD’s impressive upscaling technologies like FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) and Radeon Super Resolution (RSR). These can help bridge the gap between the two processors by allowing the Z1 chips to render games at a lower resolution and upscale them to a higher resolution, improving performance without sacrificing visuals as much.

Gaming Benchmarks

Now, the real talk. The table below features 10 titles and the average FPS in tests conducted by AMD. The graphics settings are set on the Lowest details, except for CS:GO.

Game	AMD Ryzen Z1	AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme
Red Dead Redemption 2	25.3 FPS	47.9 FPS (+89%)
Borderlands 3	40.5 FPS	57.7 FPS (+42%)
CS:GO (Highest Details, FXAA)	137.6 FPS	162.1 FPS (+18%)
Grand Theft Auto V	84.8 FPS	89.3 FPS (+5%)
Company of Heroes 3	33.4 FPS	60.0 FPS (+80%)
Forza Horizon 4	83.3 FPS	121.7 FPS (+46%)
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	39.0 FPS	73.0 FPS (+87%)
Far Cry 6	34.3 FPS	51.0 FPS (+49%)
Middle Earth: Shadow of War	51.7 FPS	64.7 FPS (+25%)
DOTA2	100.0 FPS	102.0 FPS (+2%)

AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme is 44% more powerful, on average.

Verdict

The AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme lives up to its name. With its extra cores and graphics muscle, it delivers a significant performance bump over the Z1. This translates to smoother gameplay, especially in demanding titles.

However, the Z1 remains a compelling option for budget-conscious gamers who can utilize upscaling technologies to partially offset the performance gap. With that said, the price gap between the ROG Ally configurations with Z1 and Z1 Extreme is currently between 10 and 20%, while the performance gain of the Extreme variant is more than 40%, so our opinion is that getting the Z1 Extreme is the right choice.

All devices with AMD Ryzen Z1:

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