[Rumour] Next Steam Deck to use AMD’s Hybrid Phoenix 2 “Little Phoenix” APU With 2+4 Core Configuration

[Marees]

The next Valve Steam Deck is a prime candidate which would utilize AMD's Phoenix 2 APUs among a list of other handheld and portable devices. It will definitely be interesting to see the efficiency numbers that the Phoenix 2 APUs produce. The first AMD Phoenix APUs will make their debut on laptops in March 2023 so we can expect an update later in 2023 on the Phoenix 2 parts.

the upcoming hybrid design is said to feature 2 standard Zen 4 cores and at least 4 clock/power-optimized Zen 4 cores. The Zen 4 cores are essentially the same architecture but the way power is managed across them is very different. It is not like Intel's hybrid approach where the P-Core and E-Cores utilize vastly different architectures.

The latest SKU was spotted by @InstLatX64 within the MilkyWay@Home database. Although the APU has no name or SKU branding mentioned, it is stated that the "A70F80" CPUID belongs to a range of upcoming APUs that will be part of the Phoenix 2 family.

https://wccftech.com/amd-hybrid-phoenix-2-little-phoenix-apu-with-24-core-configuration-spotted/

AMD Van Gogh SOC Successor Specs 'Preliminary':​

SOC NAME	VAN GOGH SOC	LITTLE PHOENIX SOC (TBD)
Process Node	7nm	4nm?
Die Size	163mm2	110-150mm2
Transistors	TBD	TBD
CPU Architecture	Zen 2	Zen 4
Cores / Threads	4 / 8	6 / 12?
CPU Clock (Max)	3.5 GHz	~4.0 GHz
GPU Architecture	RDNA 2	RDNA 3
GPU Compute Units	8 CUs (512 SPs)	4-8 CUs (!512 SPs)
GPU Clocks	1.6 GHz	2.0 GHz+
Memory	LPDDR5-5500	LPDDR5-6400 LPDDR5X-8533
TDP	4-15W	4-15W?
Products	Steam Deck	Steam Deck 2?
Launch	2022	2023-2024

 

[Line]

Steam Deck just turned 1 year old, how soon do you realistically think they will release the successor / upgrade? The Valve Index hasn't been updated in almost 4 years now, granted the Steam Deck is probably generating a lot more game sales for Valve.

 

[Marees]

I think an update will be due by this year end but it will be primarily for OLED & battery life.

From battery life point of view, the new processor above might be critical

 

[kirbyrj]

I think it should be noted that this isn't Valve pointing to a possible SOC replacement. This is WCCF Tech (a bastion of journalistic integrity) noting that the Van Gogh successor is being released by AMD and "could" be a replacement for the SOC in a Steam Deck. Big difference.

That being said, I'm sure someone will release a handheld with this SOC. I'm just not sure it will be Valve.

 

[chameleoneel]

Valve recently said there aren't plans for new Steam Deck hardware, any time soon. And they also said that an OLED screen would not simply be a drop-in refresh. And the implication is that they wouldn't be doing it, for the Steam Deck 1.

 

[Marees]

Valve recently said there aren't plans for new Steam Deck hardware, any time soon. And they also said that an OLED screen would not simply be a drop-in refresh. And the implication is that they wouldn't be doing it, for the Steam Deck 1.

Not sure, when that will happen, but, valve has given indications that:

The Steam Deck 2 will have a better screen and battery.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/1438078/valve-offers-juicy-details-on-the-steam-deck-2.html

"...battery issues are at the top of our list of future improvements.”

https://www.videogameschronicle.com...e-planned-and-may-include-streaming-machines/