ASUS ROG Ally screen in GPD Win Mini 2024
The updated design is powered by AMD Hawk Point APUs.
It is about this time of the year when companies are announcing their brand new handheld systems powered by next-gen APU series. In the case of AMD Ryzen 8000 series, we are looking more at a refresh than a brand-new architecture. The APUs codenamed “Hawk Point” are nothing else than a “Phoenix” silicon that powered the vast majority of handhelds in 2023 but improved AI acceleration.
Given the similarities between the platforms, it is relatively easy for companies liked GPD to announce a new system quickly. The GPD Win Mini 2024 is a refresh of the last-gen model with 7840/7640U processors, but comes with some interesting changes to the display specs. The Mini is part of the company’s clamshell designs but in a much smaller form factor (a 7-inch screen).
Win Mini 2024, Source: GPD
The Ryzen 8000 APU series are based on 4nm Zen4 architecture and have increased speed for the AMD XDNA AI-core or, if you prefer, NPU which stands for Neutral Processing Unit. The company is turning this into a marketing advantage over the last-gen model, but they fail to explain how exactly would this benefit users of Win Mini 2024.
Win Mini 2024, Source: GPD
GPD is also mentioning that the system supports SmartShift technology allows the device to dynamically shift the power between the APU and GPU, which in this case does not make any difference because the Win Mini has integrated graphics only. It does however support external USB4 graphics like the G1 from the same company, but it does not have OCulink connector. This is actually a downgrade from 2023 model which had this connector.
The system is powered by either Ryzen 7 8840U or Ryzen 5 8640U, featuring 8 or 6 Zen4 cores, respectively. Both SKUs also have different iGPU options, either Radeon 780M with 12 RDNA3 CUs or Radeon 760M with 8 CUs.
Here, GPD is making an interesting claim that their system paired with LPDDR5-6400 memory should theoretically offer higher compute performance than GTX 1660 Ti (presumably a laptop SKU). Of course, compute power has very little meaning in for actual gaming performance.
Win Mini 2024, Source: GPD
Another point being made is that the APU supports AVX-512 instruction, which has high importance for the PS3 emulation. The company claims it will be able to deliver either 30 FPS or 60 FPS in several PS3 titles.
Speaking of the memory, the GPD Win Mini comes in 3 memory configurations: 16GB, 32GB or even 64GB, all LPDDR5-6400 specs. The latter options will, of course, dictate much higher price, but those were not confirmed yet. Such memory configurations are not available with the competing systems like ROG Ally, Legion GO or Steam Deck, but the latter will no doubt be cheaper options.
The BIGGEST CHANGE is WIN Mini (2024) adopts a screen same with Ally which supporting Variable Refresh Rate and AMD FreeSYNC. The screen also features Anti-Reflective and Anti-Fingerprint surface treatment
— GPD on X
The GPD claims that their Win Mini 2024 design has a major upgrade for the display. It will now rely on 7 inch 120 Hz refresh rate with support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR). Furthermore, it will also support FreeSync Premium. It’s a 1920×1080 resolution LTPS screen with up to 500 nits of peak brightness. The screen is covered with an anti-reflective coating and Corning Gorilla Glass of 6th generation. The Ryzen 7000 model which came out 2 months ago already had a similar screen but without VRR support. GPD is seemingly replacing the product pages with the updated Ryzen 8000 model right now.
GPD is yet to confirm pricing, but it is clear that it will launch through a crowdfunding platform first. As always, we do not recommend taking part in preorders campaigns before any reviews are available. GPD claims that both Ryzen 8000 models will start shipping in April this year.
Source: GPD