The portable console market has been stagnant for quite some time, with Nintendo Switch being the only popular option. However, the situation has significantly changed with the release of Valve Steam Deck console, which has inspired ASUS to launch the ROG Ally model, and many Chinese alternatives have also entered the market.
To conduct an in-depth analysis of the APU powering the Steam Deck, a YouTuber known as “High Yield” along with photographer “Fritzchens Fritz” decided to take a closer look at this system. This APU belongs to the AMD Van Gogh family and has been manufactured using the 7nm process by TSMC. It features four cores (Zen 4 architecture) and eight CU units (RDNA2 architecture).
A detailed analysis has revealed that the AMD Aerith chip occupies a surface area of 162mm². The CPU section accounts for 12% of this area, while the cores and iGPU occupy 11%, and the LPDDR5 memory area is approximately 9%. Additionally, the system also contains other elements such as memory controller, cache memory, and I/O interfaces (USB, video connectors, etc.).
An interesting fact is that originally, a whopping 13% of the APU surface area in the Steam Deck was unknown. This is likely the CVPE (Computer Vision Processing Engine) section. This implies that the AMD Mero chip found in Magic Leap 2 goggles and the AMD Aerith chip in the Steam Deck console are identical.
It is also worth noting that the latest version of the Steam Deck console with an OLED panel has been equipped with an updated APU – AMD Sephiroth. This chip has been manufactured using the 6nm process. Although the new lithography provides an 18% higher transistor density, the APU itself is 20% smaller. This means that AMD had to make certain optimizations and changes to this system.
FAQ:
Q: What are the main features of the APU in the Steam Deck console?
A: The APU in the Steam Deck console features four cores with Zen 4 architecture and eight CU units with RDNA2 architecture.
Q: What is the CVPE section in the APU system?
A: The CVPE (Computer Vision Processing Engine) section is one of the elements of the APU system that is responsible for processing computer vision-related data.
Source:
Tom’s Hardware
The source of the article is from the blog elektrischnederland.nl