A gaming tablet with a smartphone chip versus a true Windows handheld: In a head-to-head comparison between the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and AMD’s Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme in GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, both chips deliver nearly identical frame rates. The difference lies in power consumption: Qualcomm’s SoC uses about half the power that the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme needs to achieve the same result.
The YouTube channel Dame Tech conducted the test, pitting the REDMAGIC Astra 2 (Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5) against the ROG Xbox Ally X (Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme). At first glance, it’s an unfair comparison: a 9-inch tablet with liquid cooling versus a Windows handheld with a significantly larger chassis. That’s exactly why the result is so remarkable.
The Test Setup: Tablet vs. Handheld
The REDMAGIC Astra 2 isn’t actually a gaming handheld, but rather an Android tablet with a 9.06-inch AMOLED display, a 185 Hz refresh rate, and a cooling system familiar from RedMagic’s gaming smartphones: a large vapor chamber plus liquid-metal thermal paste. Starting in August, it will cost $699 or $799, depending on the configuration.
The ROG Xbox Ally X, on the other hand, is a full-fledged Windows handheld featuring a Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, 24 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, a 1-TB SSD, and an 80-Wh battery. The chip features eight Zen 5 and Zen 5c cores, a Radeon 890M graphics unit with 16 RDNA 3.5 compute units, and an official cTDP range of 15 to 35 watts.
| Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 | Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme | |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | TSMC N3P (3 nm) | TSMC (4 nm class) |
| CPU | 2 Prime cores up to 4.61 GHz + 6 Performance cores up to 3.63 GHz | 8 cores / 16 threads (Zen 5 / Zen 5c), up to 5.0 GHz |
| GPU | Adreno with hardware ray tracing, mesh shading | Radeon 890M, 16 RDNA 3.5 CUs |
| NPU | Hexagon NPU, approx. 37% faster than its predecessor | XDNA NPU, up to 50 TOPS |
| TDP | Approx. 20 W in testing | Officially 15–35 W, up to 40 W in testing |
| Found in | REDMAGIC Astra 2 (tablet) | ROG Xbox Ally X (handheld) |
GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2: nearly identical frame rates, half the power consumption
In GTA 5, both devices were practically neck-and-neck at 720p and “Very High” settings; the Astra 2 mostly maintained over 70 FPS. What’s remarkable about this is: The tablet doesn’t run the game natively at all, but rather through the Winlator emulation layer; however, it loses hardly any noticeable performance compared to the native Windows version on the Ally X.
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In Red Dead Redemption 2, the Astra 2 even pulled ahead initially, while consuming around 20 watts compared to just under 40 watts on the Ally X. The catch became apparent over time: The tablet’s temperature climbed above 100 degrees Celsius throughout the entire test, and toward the end, the cooling system throttled so severely that the frame rate dropped slightly below that of the Ally X. Anyone who’s ever held a smartphone while gaming in direct sunlight knows the feeling—and here, it’s reflected in the numbers.
The catch: Android has hardly any native AAA games
Technically impressive, but in practice it comes with a major caveat. The Android platform has no significant native AAA portfolio. If you want to play the latest titles on the Astra 2, you’ll likely have to rely on emulation solutions like Winlator or GameHub—and these usually require that you’ve purchased the games through Steam beforehand. A smooth experience isn’t guaranteed; each new game may require its own tweaks and driver updates.
If you’re looking for alternatives to the Steam Deck, you’ll also find what you’re looking for in our guide to Steam Deck alternatives.
What This Means for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro
The real highlight of this review isn’t the Astra 2 itself, but what it hints at for Qualcomm’s next generation. The upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro is expected to run on an even finer manufacturing process and should further widen the efficiency gap with AMD’s handheld chips. If Qualcomm can get the thermal management under control, an SoC with smartphone roots as the basis for a gaming handheld would no longer be a pipe dream. The Snapdragon X2 Elite already demonstrates just how serious Qualcomm is about challenging traditional x86 domains.
Until then, however, the biggest obstacle remains not the hardware, but the software ecosystem. Without a growing selection of native games on Android, any efficiency advantage remains more of a theoretical concept than a real reason to buy for most gamers. And a tablet that runs over 100 degrees during continuous use needs not only a fast chip but, above all, better heat dissipation.
Conclusion
In a direct comparison with the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 demonstrates that Qualcomm’s efficiency lead is real and not just theoretical. For current gaming handhelds, however, the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme remains the more practical choice for now, simply because native Windows games run without the need for emulation. It will be interesting to see if the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro can extend this lead before Android is even ready as a gaming platform.
Sources: Dame Tech (YouTube),
