AMD plans to bring better graphics to budget laptops later this year with the launch of a new line of “Mendocino” processors that combine the company’s latest RDNA 2 integrated graphics technology with CPU cores based on AMD’s Zen 2 architecture, which is a few years old at this point.

The upshot is that by providing a mix of new and old, AMD expects Mendocino chips to end up in laptops that will sell for between $399 and $699. And that price point shouldn’t be surprising, because you know what else has a Zen 2 + RDNA 2 processor? Valve’s Steam Deck, a handheld gaming PC that sells for $399 to $649.

The Steam Deck’s “Aerith” processor is a custom chip that AMD designed for Valve, and it was the first mobile processor to feature RDNA 2 integrated graphics.

Now that AMD’s Ryzen 6000 mobile processors with Zen 3+ CPU cores and RDNA 2 graphics are starting to ship, the Aerith processor still stands out as a low-cost solution that offers strong graphics performance, even if rival handheld makers are hoping that customers would be willing to pay more for systems with better performance.

Still, it looks like AMD’s new Mendocino processors could bring a big graphics performance boost to entry-level laptops, with the company’s RDNA 2 architecture offering performance that rivals an entry-level NVIDIA MX series GPU. As Anandtech notes though, it’s likely that laptops with these chips won’t be targeted at gamers and probably won’t include a high number of GPU cores, but may be able to leverage RDNA 2 technology for energy-efficient hardware-accelerated video encoding and decoding for things like media playback and video chat, among other things.

Update: Rumor has it that Mendocino chips will have just two RDNA 2 GPU compute units. By comparison, the AMD Ryzen 5 6600U processor has six. The Ryzen 7 6800U has twelve. And the Steam Deck’s Aerith chip has eight. 

While the company isn’t providing detailed specs or model numbers for the Mendocino chips yet, here’s what we know so far:

  • Manufactured using the same TSCM 6nm processor as Ryzen 6000 mobile
  • Up to 4 Zen 2 CPU cores / 8 threads
  • RDNA 2 GPU
  • LPDDR5 memory
  • Expected to deliver 10+ hours of mixed usage battery life
  • Targeted at notebooks in the $399 to $699 range
  • Expected to show up in Windows notebooks and Chromebooks

AMD also indicated that a Lenovo IdeaPad 1 laptop would be among the first to feature a Mendocino processor.

press release

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5 replies on “AMD Mendocino mobile chips will bring RDNA 2 graphics and Zen 2 to budget laptops”

  1. Waiting for this is like being held back in 2nd grade. But worth the wait I suppose.

  2. I’ve been hearing of this and that other Van Gogh-like APU (Dragon Crest?) for a while now. I’ve been hoping one of them or similar would make it into a GPD Win 2 like refresh. More specifically, same or smaller pocket clamshel handheld.

    For now, I’m thankful for Valve’sm gamescope + FSR 1.0 which is prolonging my usage of the Win 2 which I use more than my Steam Deck. The Win 2 is more than powerful enough still for my non-gaming use cases too.

    I’m currently eyeing the AYANEO SLIDE since it’s seems at least jacket pocketable if the size estimate is correct. Although, I’m hearing the sticks may not be recessed/pocket friendly. The Win 4 is said to be larger than the 3 so that’s already out. A Win 2 sized clamshell would still be better to me though.

    1. A Win 2 with this would be awesome! Of course fixing the issues of the original Win 2 is a requirement.

      Since I doubt AYANEO would make a clamshell, maybe they could make a SLIDE LITE that’s smaller. 5″ – 5.5″ screen to make it a little more pocketable. It’s a bit long with those current size estimates. Although, if the sticks aren’t recessed, then it’s not pocketable anyway which would kill my excitement for the SLIDE.

    2. I would definitely buy a Win 2 form factor and sized handheld if it had this APU. It’d be great if the market for this is big enough for GPD to target.

  3. Hopefully this will revive the low cost 11 inch laptop market. I’ve been missing this since I moved to a 15 inch system in 2015 and again in 2021. I need a small laptop with more power than 2c4t Intels or old Zen+ Ryzens can provide. Hopefully something like the APU in the Steamdeck (which I also have and runs well) but with unlocked turbo will make it into a $399 laptop that has dual RAM slots later this year. Worst case I’ll grab the new GPD Win when it comes out with the 6800U but I’d rather not spend $1200 bucks to get a decent small laptop.

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