Update (September 14): Corrected erroneous analysis.
The Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (via Tomasz Gawroński) has just been tested on the Ashes of the Singularity benchmark. The results favor Intel’s Lunar Lake chip, which easily outperformed the Ryzen Z1 Extreme.
The Core Ultra 7 258V is one of Intel’s latest mobile processors based on the Lunar Lake platform. The processor features an octa-core design without Hyper-Threading. It has four P-cores and four E-cores. Meanwhile, AMD’s Ryzen Z1 Extreme is designed for handheld consoles and features eight Zen 4 cores with SMT and a very capable RDNA 3 iGPU.
According to Gawroński’s results, the Core Ultra 7 258V was 1.5X to 2X faster than the Ryzen Z1 Extreme. However, it’s important to note that the Lunar Lake chip was paired with 32GB of memory, whereas the Ryzen Z1 Extreme had 12GB. It’s hard to make a faithful comparison since we’re looking at chips designed for different segments. The Lunar Lake chip likely hailed from a laptop, whereas the Ryzen Z1 Extreme was like residing inside a handheld gaming device. The testing environment was different.
Nevertheless, we need more than just these frame rate numbers from a single DirectX 12 benchmark to know which chip performs better and more accurately. After all, several factors, like the power profile, cooling performance, battery levels, and more, could affect the chip’s actual performance, especially in mobile and handheld devices. That’s why you should wait for the results of trusted reviewers, like Tom’s Hardware, who have put these devices through the wringer more scientifically—that way, you know that the numbers you get are as objective as possible.
AMD’s Z1 Extreme is currently the only chip tailored toward gaming handhelds. It’s inside devices like the ROG Ally X and Legion Go. Meanwhile, newer devices, such as the MSI Claw 8 AI+, have already jumped on the Lunar Lake train, and we expect more competition to do the same. However, AMD has confirmed that the Z2 Extreme will be available in early 2025, so the next big fight involving Lunar Lake versus Z2 Extreme will be very interesting.
