AMD Develops Enhanced “AERITH Plus” SOC Featuring Increased Clock Speeds & LPDDR5x, Likely Targeting Steam Deck 2

Recent shipping documents have unveiled AMD’s upcoming Aerith Plus SoC, which is rumored to be featured in Valve’s next iteration of the Steam Deck, possibly named the Steam Deck 2.

Potential Specifications of the AMD Aerith Plus SoC for Steam Deck 2

Exciting news for gaming enthusiasts: it appears that Valve is on the verge of introducing the successor to its popular Steam Deck. While we’re still awaiting official specifications, leaked information offers a glimpse into the anticipated System-on-Chip (SoC) powering this next-gen handheld console. Previously, Valve hinted at their ambition to significantly enhance performance in the Steam Deck’s follow-up.

According to the latest leaks, it is highly probable that AMD will incorporate a Zen 5-based chip into the Steam Deck 2. A notable shipping manifest from NBD recently surfaced, revealing details about the potential SoC. Twitter user @Olrak29_ shared a screenshot indicating the presence of the AERITH PLUS designation.

AERITH PLUS NBD Shipping Manifest — Image Credit: @Olrak29_

For context, the original AERITH chip was designed for the first Steam Deck, built on Zen 2 architecture with 4 cores and 8 threads. The AERITH Plus is set to be its successor, promising a significant boost in clock speeds and thermal design power (TDP).

Specifically, the AERITH Plus is expected to achieve clock speeds of up to 3.8 GHz, an improvement over the original AERITH’s base and boost clocks of 2.4 GHz and 3.5 GHz, respectively. This indicates a robust enhancement in performance potential when maximizing CPU usage.

While the lower TDP for the AERITH Plus remains undisclosed, the manifest indicates an upper limit of 20W, which surpasses the previous AERITH’s TDP range of 4-15W. This increase suggests that the Steam Deck 2 might maintain its reputation as one of the most energy-efficient handheld PCs on the market. In terms of GPU capabilities, the anticipated chip could reach clock speeds of up to 1.8 GHz, edging out the prior AERITH’s maximum clock of 1.6 GHz.

The original AERITH incorporated RDNA 2 architecture for its integrated GPU, featuring 8 Compute Units and clock speeds from 1.0 to 1.6 GHz. With the transition to Zen 5, we anticipate a substantial uplift to RDNA 3.5 architecture for the AERITH Plus, further enhancing graphical performance alongside CPU capabilities. The expected APU for AERITH Plus is likely to be a custom iteration of Krackan Point, aiming for up to 8 cores, 16 threads, and 12 Compute Units for its integrated GPU, thus significantly boosting overall compute power.

Moreover, the memory specifications are also set to see an upgrade. The AERITH Plus SoC is anticipated to support LPDDR5X 8533 MT/s memory modules from Samsung or Micron, signaling an integration with Zen 5 architecture. Although solid leaks are still pending regarding full specifications, the Steam Deck 2 is projected for a potential launch next year, satisfying the eager gaming community.

Source&Images