GPD Refreshes Win 4 Handheld Game Console With Zen 4 And Faster DDR5 RAM

by Mark Tyson — Wednesday, June 28, 2023, 11:37 AM EDT

Hong Kong based handheld PC specialist GPD has announced a 2023 update to its Win 4 gaming device. The new GPD Win 4 (2023) comes with a choice of AMD Ryzen 7840U or 7640U processor, up to 64GB of LPDDR5X-7500 RAM, and up to 4TB of PCIe Gen4 SSD storage. These stats all represent generational or capacity improvements compared to the 2022 model's hardware..

There were rumors of a Ryzen 7040 'Phoenix' processor upgrade for the GPD Win 4 back in April, and now it has materialized. Some will grumble about having very recently received GPD Win 4 (2022) devices, built around the Ryzen 7 6800U, as they only just started to get sent to crowdfunding backers from late March. However, the new 2023 model won't be available until August or later.

Without a doubt, the biggest change delivered by the GPD Win 4 (2023) is the processor upgrade from Ryzen 7 6800U (8C/16T Zen 3 CPU cores, 12x RDNA 2 CUs) to Ryzen 7840U (8C/16T Zen 4 CPU cores, 12x RDNA 3 CUs), or to Ryzen 7640U (6C/12T Zen 4 CPU cores, 8x RDNA 3 CUs). These aren't just architectural upgrades, the new AMD Zen 4 and RDNA 3 cores can run faster than those in the Ryzen 7 6800U.

Other important changes include the addition of more and faster DDR5 to the system, with the uplift specifically being the move from LPDDR5-6400 to LPDDR5X-7500 in the GPD Win 4 (2023) - and there is now an option for up to 64GB of RAM. Last but not least, the new version of the GPD Win 4 is going to be made available in a 4TB SSD configuration. This is possible because the slot on the mainboard accommodates the popular M.2 2280 form factor cards.

While we know that the new GPD Win 4 (2023) is going to be available from August, we don't have pricing for this version. The model it is replacing starts at $800 for the 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD version, so hopefully the upgrades won't push pricing levels much higher, or it won't look good compared to the competition.

The AMD Ryzen 7040 Phoenix upgrade will help GPD compete against the likes of the Asus ROG Ally and a host of lesser known rivals. Despite the weight of technological advances, for some the Steam Deck will continue to be favored: for its pricing, tight integration with the eponymous gaming platform, and Linux-based OS.