AMD's budget laptop chip might not be game-ready on its own

AMD Ryzen 5000 chip on leather background
(Image credit: AMD)

AMD announced its Mendocino program during its Computex 2022 keynote. By the end of it, we were hoping for a new kind of budget laptop. A budget laptop that could actually game. Boasting a Zen 2 APU with 4-cores and 8-threads alongside an RDNA 2-based iGPU we couldn't help but draw parallels with the chip at the heart of the Steam Deck. And given Mendocino is designed for machines that cost between $399-$699 we were understandably stoked about the possibilities.

Unfortunately, the latest leaks have pulled the rug out from this dream, as Mendocino apparently only has a single Work Group Processor (WGP), which equates to just two Compute Units. Two. That's just 128 stream processors, which is frankly rubbish when it comes to gaming.

For comparison, the Steam Deck has eight CUs (512 stream processors), and while Valve's handheld can just about handle gaming at 720p, it's hardly what you'd call a powerhouse. A pair of CUs is simply not going to be able to cut it when it comes to gaming, even allowing for the extra frequency that a drop from the 7nm production process to 6nm will afford.

This new information comes from a leaked specs slide for Mendocino, which seems to confirm an earlier rumour about the CU count that started with the announcement that the new Ayaneo Air Plus handheld console would use AMD's Mendocino chips. The core count is particularly noteworthy here because that handheld has a 1080p screen, which is obviously going to be too big an ask for the pair of CUs.

Steam in your hands

Steam Deck with an image from Elden Ring overlayed on the screen

(Image credit: Future, FromSoftware)

Steam Deck review: Our verdict on Valve's handheld PC.
Steam Deck availability: How to get one.
Steam Deck battery life: What's the real battery life of the new device?
How loud is the Steam Deck? And will it pass the Significant Other test?

The newest leak is of the Mendocino block diagram, unearthed by @Olrak29_ (via Videocardz), which does seem to line up with what AMD has officially said about the low-powered APU. It's still an interesting APU, especially as it boasts support for AV1 and VP9 decoding and can be paired with up to 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM, but it just isn't the updated Steam Deck chip we had hoped for.

AMD's Mendocino is due to start finding its way into mainstream laptops before the end of the year.

Alan Dexter

Alan has been writing about PC tech since before 3D graphics cards existed, and still vividly recalls having to fight with MS-DOS just to get games to load. He fondly remembers the killer combo of a Matrox Millenium and 3dfx Voodoo, and seeing Lara Croft in 3D for the first time. He's very glad hardware has advanced as much as it has though, and is particularly happy when putting the latest M.2 NVMe SSDs, AMD processors, and laptops through their paces. He has a long-lasting Magic: The Gathering obsession but limits this to MTG Arena these days.

Read more
AMD Strix Point APU chip, held in a hand, with the reflected light showing the various processing blocks in the chip die
AMD's next-gen 'Gorgon Point' APU outted and seemingly sticks with RDNA 3.5 graphics which is disappointing for handheld gaming PCs if accurate
Steam Deck OLED: Limited Edition White
AMD announces more powerful Ryzen Z2 Series processors for future PC handhelds, but Valve says 'there is and will be no Z2 Steam Deck'
The 2025 revised release of the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 tablet floats in a mint green gradient void. It sits in a landscape orientation, propped up by a stand attached to its back. A lightweight tablet-style keyboard is also attached at the front of the device.
The new ROG Flow Z13 is ditching dedicated graphics but making up for it with AMD's next-gen Ryzen AI Max APU
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 gaming laptop
AMD's throwing the considerably hefty Ryzen 9 9950X3D at gaming laptops and calling it a Ryzen 9 9955HX3D
AMD Strix Halo
3DMark benchmarks show off AMD's big daddy Strix Halo laptop chip in action and I'm a little underwhelmed
AMD Strix Point APU chip, held in a hand, with the reflected light showing the various processing blocks in the chip die
AMD Ryzen AI Max is finally here: 'the most advanced mobile x86 processor ever created' with 40 RDNA 3.5 CUs and 16 Zen 5 cores
Latest in Processors
A chip being held up in an Intel fab
Intel is reportedly 'working to finalize commitments from Nvidia' as a foundry partner, suggesting gaming potential for the 18A node
AMD Strix Point APU chip, held in a hand, with the reflected light showing the various processing blocks in the chip die
AMD's next-gen 'Gorgon Point' APU outted and seemingly sticks with RDNA 3.5 graphics which is disappointing for handheld gaming PCs if accurate
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivering pancakes and sausages to pre-GTC show hosts and guests, wearing an apron
'There might be a party. I wasn't invited,' says Jensen Huang of the rumoured TSMC proposal to join forces and run Intel's chip fabs
Nvidia Feynman GPU
While we despair of RTX 50-series supplies and wait on next-gen Rubin, Nvidia reveals its next-next GPU architecture will be known as Feynman and is due in 2028
Nvidia Vera CPU
Nvidia reveals Vera, a new CPU with 'custom' cores which could be very exciting for its upcoming premium PC processor
Machinery tools and equipment,Rolls of galvanized steel for production metal pipes and tubes for industrial ventilation systems in factory.
New super-thin '2D' metal sheets could enable ultra-low power chips and can you guess how they're made? Yup, by squishing stuff really hard
Latest in News
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway
Image of Cersei Lanniser from Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Steam early access trailer
A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all
The new Prime Asset featured in the upcoming update for the Outlast Trials.
The Outlast Trials puts its already paranoid players under surveillance for a time-limited story event