News Valve shoots down rumors of RDNA4-based Steam Console — it routinely tests new hardware that isn't put into its own devices

[Admin]

Rumors of a new Steam Console using RDNA4 are greatly exaggerated, but there's clearly a future for Steam-branded hardware. Here's the rundown on what we know and expect from the eventual Steam Deck successor.

Valve shoots down rumors of RDNA4-based Steam Console — it routinely tests new hardware that isn't put into its own devices : Read more

 

[usertests]

By the time a console actually releases, the GPU and CPU tech are almost always at least a generation behind the latest hardware... When the Steam Deck launched back in 2022, it used AMD's RDNA 2 architecture that first appeared back in November 2020, putting about a year and a half between the Steam Deck and its original GPU architecture, and 2.5 years between the Steam Deck and the Zen 2 CPU architecture.

This is less of a rule and more a consequence of them picking up a custom APU AMD had already developed for another customer. And it was a good decision since it had a very efficient CPU and decent iGPU, compared to the off-the-shelf APUs that typically have too much CPU and not enough GPU performance.

The "new" Ryzen Z2 Go follows the Steam Deck formula, with only quad-core Zen 3+ (Rembrandt) and 12 CUs of RDNA2.

With full discrete RDNA 4 mobile GPUs estimated to run somewhere in the range of 80-175W TDP, it's fair to say AMD isn't quite there yet.

Says who? It seems they have completely abandoned mobile dGPUs for the RDNA4 generation:
https://www.extremetech.com/computing/amd-squashes-hopes-for-discrete-rdna-4-in-laptops-anytime-soon

Smaller nodes tuned for efficiency could be precisely what's needed to make a more compelling chip for a future handheld — if the total die size and price can be kept in check.

Valve may want double/triple the graphics performance to take it to 1080p, and around the same power consumption as Steam Deck 1. We're looking at Zen 6/UDNA1 or later on TSMC N3 or later. AMD may be moving to chiplets for mainstream APUs so it's unclear what Valve would use. Maybe a smaller monolithic die like a successor to Kraken, or another custom chip. LPDDR6 may be required for more bandwidth. So it's understandable that the wait is going to take years.