A 6-core, 24 GB Zen 6 chip just surfaced on OpenBenchmarking, and it looks built for a Steam Deck 2
An AMD engineering sample lists 6 cores, 12 threads, 24 GB of LPDDR5 at 9,600 MT/s (versus the Steam Deck's 16 GB at 6,400), but it is unannounced, unconfirmed and was tested on a validation board.
An AMD engineering sample has made an appearance in a listing on OpenBenchmarking.
Comprehensive take
If you are shopping for a handheld, do not wait on this leak: there is no product, price or date. If you build or port games, the signal is worth noting: 24 GB of fast shared memory and 12 threads would give a future handheld far more headroom than the 16 GB, 8-thread baseline today.
Use cases
Handheld buyers deciding whether to wait
Nothing is announced; buy for what exists today and treat this as a hint about the next generation.
Game developers targeting Linux handhelds
More memory and threads would relax the 16 GB, 8-thread ceiling that current handheld profiles assume.
Specs
| CPU | 6 cores / 12 threads at 2.4 GHz; microcode Family 1Ah model DCh (Zen 6 range) source |
|---|---|
| Memory | 24 GB LPDDR5 (4 × 6 GB SK Hynix) at 9,600 MT/s source |
| iGPU clock | 2,400 MHz; CU count unknown source |
| GpuTest (1024×768) | GiMark 3,871 · FurMark 3,508 · TessMark 9,319 source |
| Current Steam Deck | 4 cores / 8 threads Zen 2, 16 GB LPDDR5 at 6,400 MT/s source |
Insights
- The 9,600 vs 6,400 MT/s memory gap is the headline for integrated graphics, which live or die on bandwidth.
- The listing is dated August, about two months before the Gainsborough codename appeared in an Adrenalin 26.9.2 driver.
- Synthetic GpuTest scores on a validation board do not predict handheld gaming performance.
Axion Scorecard
Overall:
Not yet scored — no cited data
Not yet scored — no cited data
Not yet scored — no cited data
Zen 6-range microcode with 24 GB at 9,600 MT/s is a clear step up on paper from the Steam Deck memory subsystem. source
Not yet scored — no cited data
No announcement, price or date from AMD or Valve. source
Not yet scored — no cited data
The listing is a single OpenBenchmarking result, uploaded in August and now being read closely. According to reporting from Tom's Hardware, TechPowerUp and Notebookcheck, an AMD engineering sample with part number 100-000001930-12_Y ran on an AMD "GBR-FF6-SKT" validation board with six cores and twelve threads at 2.4 GHz, backed by 24 GB of LPDDR5: four 6 GB SK Hynix packages running at 9,600 MT/s. Notebookcheck reads the CPU microcode as Family 1Ah, model DCh, a range that Linux kernel changes reserve for newer Zen 6 parts. The integrated GPU reports a 2,400 MHz clock; the compute-unit count is not shown.
The numbers that matter
Set against the current Steam Deck, the contrast is plain. Valve's handheld uses a four-core, eight-thread Zen 2 APU with 16 GB of LPDDR5 at 6,400 MT/s. The sample has 50% more cores, 50% more memory capacity and 50% more memory transfer rate (9,600 versus 6,400 MT/s). For a GPU that shares system memory, that last figure is the one gamers should care about: bandwidth, not core count, usually decides integrated-graphics frame rates.
The graphics scores in the listing, from GpuTest at 1,024 by 768 in a window on Ubuntu 24.04, were 3,871 (GiMark), 3,508 (FurMark) and 9,319 (TessMark). Tom's Hardware says the FurMark result is comparable to the original Steam Deck, but it gives no reference score, and synthetic tests on development drivers say little about games.
What is solid and what is not
Solid: the hardware configuration in the listing and the microcode family. Not solid: the product. Neither AMD nor Valve has announced or confirmed the chip. The codename Gainsborough and the Steam Deck 2 link rest on naming patterns, and leakers also tie the FF6 package to AMD's Ryzen Z3 handheld chips. It is also unclear whether the cores are full Zen 6 or the denser Zen 6C. Power limits, cooling and final GPU configuration will shape any real handheld, and none of them are visible in this result.
Treat it as a credible leak of a validation platform, not a spec sheet.