Dear AMD Team,
I am writing to request your attention to a growing concern within the community of users who rely on the AMD Z1 Extreme processor, particularly in handheld devices like the ASUS ROG Ally. While the Z1 Extreme is a phenomenal piece of hardware, offering impressive performance with its integrated RDNA 3 graphics, there is a significant limitation in its compatibility with external AMD GPUs.
Currently, users who wish to connect a discrete AMD GPU to a device running the Z1 Extreme are forced to rely on a workaround involving the installation of the 780M drivers. This is far from ideal, as it’s not an officially supported solution and carries risks of instability and incompatibility with certain games or applications. More importantly, this limitation is inadvertently pushing users towards using Nvidia eGPUs, as Nvidia's external GPU solutions tend to work more seamlessly out of the box. This situation undermines AMD's ecosystem and drives users away from your otherwise excellent hardware.
Key Issues:
- Driver Incompatibility: Official drivers for the Z1 Extreme do not natively support external AMD GPUs, despite the architecture being similar to other Ryzen chips, such as the Ryzen 7 7840U (which has no such limitation when paired with external AMD GPUs).
- Workaround Requirement: Users have discovered that installing 780M drivers enables the use of AMD external GPUs, but this process is cumbersome, unofficial, and could lead to performance or stability issues.
- User Frustration: The inability to easily use an AMD discrete GPU with an AMD-based system creates a frustrating experience. Many users are opting for Nvidia eGPUs, simply because of their ease of use with existing systems.
- Competitive Disadvantage: By not officially supporting external AMD GPUs on Z1 Extreme devices, AMD is potentially losing out on customers who would prefer to stay within the AMD ecosystem for both integrated and discrete graphics.
The Solution:
I strongly urge AMD to release official drivers for the Z1 Extreme that fully support external AMD GPUs. This would:
- Provide seamless integration between the Z1 Extreme's integrated RDNA 3 GPU and discrete AMD GPUs.
- Prevent the need for users to seek out workarounds like installing 780M drivers.
- Encourage more users to adopt AMD's eGPU solutions, fostering stronger brand loyalty.
- Close the gap between AMD and Nvidia in the eGPU market, ensuring AMD users can stick with the AMD ecosystem.
In conclusion, by making this change, AMD can retain users within its ecosystem, offer a smoother experience for Z1 Extreme-based systems, and reduce reliance on Nvidia's eGPU solutions. Given the increasing popularity of mobile and handheld gaming devices, ensuring robust support for external GPUs on AMD-based systems would be a big win for both AMD and its customers.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I hope to see an update soon that resolves this issue and helps keep users loyal to AMD’s comprehensive gaming solutions.
