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The GPD Win Max 2 is is a mini-laptop designed for gaming or general purpose computing. It has a 10.1 inch, 2560 x 1600 pixel touchscreen display, a backlit QWERTY keyboard with keys that are large enough for touch typing, and built-in game controllers above the keyboard that lets you hold the system like a handheld console.
When the Win Max 2 first launched in 2022 it was available with two processor options: Intel Core i7-1260P or AMD Ryzen 7 6800U. But now GPD has phased out both of those models and introduced a new GPD Win Max 2 (2023) with AMD Ryzen 7040U “Phoenix” processor options and several other upgrades. It’s up for pre-order now for $799 and up through an Indiegogo InDemand campaign, and the Win Max 2 (2023) should begin shipping to backers in August.
For the most part the new model looks a lot like its predecessor. There’s still a 10.1 inch display with support for pen and finger touch input. There’s still a backlit keyboard, game controllers that can be covered when you’re not using them, and premium features like quad speakers, support for up to two SSDs, and a fingerprint sensor integrated with the power button.
But GPD has upgraded this year’s model by adding:
- AMD Ryzen 7040U series processors
- An Oculink port for high-speed connections to an external GPU (like the GPD G1)
- Support for up to 64GB of LPDDR5x-7500 memory
The biggest change is the processor. There’s no longer any Intel option at all. And instead of the Ryzen 7 6800U chip (with 8 Zen 3+ CPU cores and 12 RDNA 2 compute units), the new model is available with either an AMD Ryzen 5 7640U chip (6 Zen 4 cores + 8 RDNA 3 CUs) or Ryzen 7 7840U processor (8 Zen 4 cores + 12 RDNA 3 CUs).
Here’s how the new model stacks up against the original GPD Win Max 2 on paper:
| GPD Win Max 2 (2023, 7840U) | GPD Win Max 2 (2023, 7640U) | GPD Win Max 2 (2022, AMD) | ||
| Display | 10.1 inches 2560 x 1600 pixels 10-point capacitive touch Pen support (4096 levels pressure sensitivity) | |||
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 7840U Zen 4 architecture 8-cores / 16-threads 3.3 GHz – 5.1 GHz 15-35W TPD | AMD Ryzen 5 7640U Zen 4 architecture 6-cores / 12-threads 3.5 GHz – 4.9 GHz 15-35W TDP | AMD Ryzen 7 6800U Zen 3+ architecture 8-cores / 16-threads 2.7 GHz – 4.7 GHz 15-28W TDP | |
| GPU | Radeon 780M RDNA 3 architecture 12 compute units 2.7 GHz | Radeon 760M RDNA 3 architecture 8 compute units 2.6 GHz | AMD Radeon 680M RDNA 2 architecture 12 Compute Units 2.2 GHz | |
| RAM | LPDDR5x-7500 32GB or 64GB | LPDDR5x-7500 16GB | LPDDR5-6400 16GB or 32GB Supports up to 64GB | |
| Storage | M.2 2280 & M.2 2230 PCIe Gen 4.0 Sold with up to 2TB (M.2 2280) Supports up to 16TB (8TB per slot) SD card reader microSD card reader | M.2 2280 & M.2 2230 PCIe Gen 4.0 & PCIe Gen 3 Sold with up to 2TB (M.2 2280) Supports up to 16TB (8TB per slot) SD card reader microSD card reader | ||
| Ports | 1 x USB4 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A 1 x HDMI 2.1 1 x Oculink (SFF-8612) | 1 x USB4 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A 1 x HDMI 2.1 | ||
| Audio & video | Quad speakers 3.5mm audio jack 2MP Webcam (below display) | |||
| Input | QWERTY keyboard (backlit) Game controllers Motion sensors | |||
| Security | Fingerprint sensor | |||
| Battery & Charging | 67 Wh battery 100W USB Type-C | |||
| Wireless | WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.2 4G LTE (optional) | |||
| Material | Aluminum-magnesium alloy | |||
| Dimensions | 227 x 160 x 23mm | |||
| Weight | 1005 grams | |||
| Price (during crowdfunding) | $1049 (32GB + 2TB) $1199 (64GB + 2TB) | $799 (16GB + 1TB) | $999 | |
GPD is also offering several bundles that include a GPD G1 external graphics dock with an AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT GPU featuring 32 RDNA 3 compute units and 8GB of GDDR6 memory.
Prices for those bundles range from $1442 for a 7640U + 16GB + 1TB +G1 package to $1842 for a 7840U + 64GB + 2TB + G1 system.
In terms of real-world performance, a handful of YouTubers have already gotten a chance to test the Win Max 2 (2023) with a Ryzen 7 7840U processor and report that the new chip does indeed bring a significant performance bump.
With support for AVX-512 extensions, The Phawx notes that you can get 60 fps while playing PS3 games like God of War using an emulator.
Meanwhile ETA Prime has run some benchmarks and posted a demo video showing a bunch of PC games running natively on the device.
GPD says the Win Max 2 (2023) with a Ryzen 7 7840U processor will launch in June, with the cheaper Max 2 (2023) powered by a Ryzen 5 7640U chip launching in July. But the company hasn’t yet revealed how much they’ll cost or where you’ll be able to buy one – GPD typically launches new products through crowdfunding campaigns before making them more widely available.
Just don’t expect them to be cheap: last year’s model went for $999 and up during crowdfunding, and is currently selling for around $1100 to $1300.
It is like forcing a laptop to be a Gameboy… humiliating.
It’s going to be interesting to see how GPD prices these. With the ROG Ally set to upset the market, I can’t imagine who is going to see any value in spending $1100 on a similar level of performance that the ROG Ally is going to offer for hundreds of dollars less. Especially considering it comes from GPD.
You’d have to REALLY want the keyboard or the form-factor to justify that purchase.
“You’d have to REALLY want the keyboard or the form-factor to justify that purchase.”
I’m pretty sure that’s already the case for existing Win Max 2 users. I got the Win Max 2 due to that.
Although I ended up returning it. The size and weight increase from the Win Max 1 made the Win Max 2 a lot more awkward to use handheld. For me, the Win Max 1 was also awkward but workable. Not so much for the Win Max 2 but I guess there are people who still like it.
Even if you’re a die-hard fan of this GPD design, it seems like a tough sell considering it’s likely going to cost $400 more than the Asus, will potentially have MUCH lower quality, doesn’t have a warranty, and it will likely require buying it on a crowdfunding platform with a long wait and no hope of a refund.
I’m willing to bet that many of their fans are willing to give up the idea of this niche form factor for the ROG Ally, simply on the basis of coming from a reputable company that will support the product properly.
For people who only really want to game, plus do perhaps do don’t other stuff when docked, sure.
But if you want a jack of all trades device that you can just pop between one and three things in almost any bag and go… well there’s not much else.
Some server admins seem to like it; it neatly fits into a workbag and is kind of a Goldilocks size for use when squatting next to a server rack.
From their site, I see that they “fixed” the SD card random disconnect issue from the first Win Max 2 by only having one SD slot usable at a time…
ain’t buying that bigass thing if it was just a long but much shorter maybe like the dimensions of a dvd case then i would buy it
Well don’t you worry, they don’t really care about what you specifically want
Love my Win Max 2 😉 and USB4 is enough for ext. GPU, even I don’t use it…for now…
The GPU entry for the 7640U has a mistake, it uses Radeon 760M with only 8 CU. Per: https://www.amd.com/en/products/apu/amd-ryzen-5-7640u
Another success for AMD Marketing Team in sowing confusion about the product specs.
Thanks – I could have sworn I had that in there, but I think I had a copy/paste error when making the table. It’s fixed now!