Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite's latest Linux benchmarks show it performs like five-year-old Intel Tiger Lake chips
GeForce 590 driver branch is the first without feature support for GTX 9- and 10-series GPUs
It’s important to point out what this could mean for handheld owners. Without official updates, these devices will effectively enter maintenance mode. The hardware itself won’t stop working, but the lack of new drivers means handheld owners will miss out on day-one optimizations for major game releases, potentially leading to crashes or poor performance in future titles.
It also provides an unusual discrepancy, at least in Lenovo’s case, as far as the Lenovo Legion Go S is concerned. That handheld is available with two different APUs, but it appears that the entry-level model with the AMD Ryzen Z2 Go isn’t affected by this decision so far, even though it’s technically based on older Zen 2 architecture versus the Zen 3-based Z1 Extreme.
While it may technically be possible to install alternative Ryzen drivers for these APUs, such as the ones issued for the Z2-based Lenovo Legion Go S, in Lenovo’s case, it’s actively warning against doing so. These devices use different and configurable TDP values for the Z1 Extreme, from 9W to 30W. Previously released drivers will have been tested by the OEMs to ensure maximum compatibility, and drivers for other handhelds might not be an exact match.
A good alternative, however, might be to ditch Windows. Linux-based handhelds, like those running Valve 's SteamOS and Bazzite, use alternative open-source drivers that don’t rely on AMD’s release schedule. This could offer a lifeline for handheld owners in this situation who are willing to install a Linux alternative on their handheld and ditch Windows entirely, although like-for-like performance may not be guaranteed.
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Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/lenovo-and-asus-handheld-owners-warned-as-ryzen-z1-extreme-driver-support-reportedly-ends-lack-of-official-updates-threatens-longevity-for-legion-go-go-s-and-rog-ally-x-devices-on-windows-11#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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