SMACH Z final specifications and pricing revealed

SMACH Z final specifications and pricing revealed

SMACH Z final specifications and pricing revealed

The SMACH Z is an exciting piece of hardware that promises to deliver PC gaming to a handheld console-like form factor, creating what looks more like a new PSP iteration or a handheld Xbox One than what we would typically consider a “gaming PC”.  

Over time this concept has evolved, utilising newer cutting edge hardware to deliver the gaming experience that users expect. The hardware demands of modern games have forced the developers of the SMACH Z to use one of AMD’s Ryzen new Embedded processors, bringing Ryzen CPU cores and Vega Graphics into a handheld gaming form factor. 

Now, SMACH has officially relaunched their new portable gaming PC, alongside pre-order pricing, though sadly no official shipping date has been revealed. Below is a list of PC games and the average framerates that users can expect at certain settings. 

– The Witcher 3 (720p Medium settings) ~ 40 FPS
– Alien: Isolation (1080p Low settings) ~ 50 FPS
– GTA 5 (720p Normal settings) ~ 60 FPS
– League of Legends (1080p High settings) ~ 60 FPS
– Rocket League (1080p Normal settings) ~ 60 FPS
– Dark Souls 3 (720p Low settings) ~ 40 FPS

Looking at the console’s specifications, it appears that the SMACH Z Team have made a significant oversight when creating their new PC/handheld console hybrid, DDR4 memory speed. 

The basic $699 SMACH Z model will only offer 4GB of DDR4 memory at 2133MHz, which is low-speed memory for a graphics unit which can typically be memory bound. The SMACH Z team has not specified whether or not this unit will offer single channel or dual channel memory, 2GB DDR4 SODIMMs are available and we hope that the SMACH Z team will not make the mistake of shipping an APU with single channel memory. 

Aside from that, 4GB of DDR4 is not enough to supply both the CPU and GPU portions of a gaming build, especially if you want to try something that can be considered high-end. For this reason, we can see a lot of SMACH Z owners considering memory upgrades. 

Users will also need to consider expanded storage options, using MicroSD storage or larger external storage devices. Upgrading the unit’s integrated SSD should be possible, but for the basic unit, 64GB of storage is nowhere near enough for anyone’s gaming needs. 

SMACH Z final specifications and pricing revealed

  SMACH Z final specifications and pricing revealed

  

Looking at the PCB of the SMACH Z we can see that there are two DDR4 memory channels, offering users room for memory upgrades. The device also uses what appears to be an M.2 SSD, allowing the device’s internal storage to also be upgraded. 

The SMACH Z is an interesting design concept, but one that is also full of potential problems, be it battery life, memory performance or the sheer GPU demands of modern PC games. We certainly look forward to seeing how this device performs when it officially releases. Pre-orders are set to begin on March 15th. 

You can join the discussion on the SMACH Z’s pricing and specifications on the OC3D Forums.Â