Remember the SMACH Z? [Official Site] The portable Ryzen-powered gaming handheld that comes with either their Linux-based SMACH OS or Windows 10, well it's now up for pre-order. Selecting a SMACH Z unit with Windows 10 does add around £80.10 to the cost, so it will be interesting to see how many opt for the Linux unit.
Not that we suggest pre-ordering anything, but it's interesting to see that the project is still apparently very much alive. If it does get even reasonably positive reviews, it could end up proving to be a very interesting device for Linux gaming on the go. As someone who also owns a Nintendo Switch, I certainly understand how handy such a portable can be.
It comes in three models, the SMACH Z, SMACH Z PRO and the SMACH Z ULTRA. Here's the tech specs:
- AMD Ryzen™ V1605B with AMD Radeon™ Vega 8 Graphics
- 4/8/16 GB DDR4 2133MHz SODIMM
- 64/128/256 GB HD SSD m.2
- FullHD Touchscreen 6” 1920x1080
- Camera 5 Megapixels (PRO & ULTRA only)
- WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/d/e/h/i & Bluetooth v2.1+EDR/v3.0/v3.0HS/v4.0
- USB-C, USB-A, Micro USB, Display Port, SD card, Audio minijack
- Charger USB-C 20V 3A 60W. Plug EU/US/UK/AU
- SMACH OS Linux based distribution
You can slightly customize the build as well, so you can adjust the RAM, storage space, camera and the operating system.
On top of that, you can also get the optional "Z-PADS", which stick onto the haptic touch pads (although they don't seem to be on their store yet):
They say it will be available in "Q4 of 2018". However, there's been talk of it being some sort of scam, so I do urge you to be careful as always. I really hope it isn't…
What do you think to it? Let us know in the comments.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: wojtek88The biggest issue with this hardware is that it will run games meant to be played on bigger screen. It may be hard for many titles to read subtitles, menu items will be small etc.While I'm sure it won't be a perfect experience, remember that you'll be holding it closer, so this might not be quite as bad as you think.
The SMACH Z looks very slick, but personally I don't think I'd be interested in paying a premium for a handheld, console-like computer.
i havent watched through it recently, but if i remember correctly.. they made fake prototypes, and basically just uses an android tablet motherboard/components
View video on youtube.com
Quoting: EnderCryptim pretty sure it is a scam, hmm.. i think i remember a video talking about it.. ah here
i havent watched through it recently, but if i remember correctly.. they made fake prototypes, and basically just uses an android tablet motherboard/components
View video on youtube.com
Yep. It seems to be using same part as Linx tablet.
I am over 99% sure that this is a scam
Quoting: TheRiddickHows the GPU power compared to the Tegra1 and 2 chips I wonder? Is Vega 8 1TFLOP iGPU?
I assume it means 8 Vega compute units. So assuming the CPU can keep the Vega pipelines primed, just look up Vega 64 Full HD benchmarks and divide the framerate by 8.
Not something I would be interested in, but the Z-Pads look like something the Steam Controller could do with. I find the Steam controller haptic pads don't work well as intended ( for me ), and the ability to choose your own preferred sticks and buttons has to be helpful.
Last edited by etonbears on 29 April 2018 at 9:22 pm UTC
slaapliedje Apr 30, 2018
Quoting: etonbearsQuoting: TheRiddickHows the GPU power compared to the Tegra1 and 2 chips I wonder? Is Vega 8 1TFLOP iGPU?
I assume it means 8 Vega compute units. So assuming the CPU can keep the Vega pipelines primed, just look up Vega 64 Full HD benchmarks and divide the framerate by 8.
Not something I would be interested in, but the Z-Pads look like something the Steam Controller could do with. I find the Steam controller haptic pads don't work well as intended ( for me ), and the ability to choose your own preferred sticks and buttons has to be helpful.
Hmm, that's the question, why hasn't the Steam Controller had things made for it like this yet? I know a while back they had some contest for 3D Printed designs, but the only one that seemed to come around was the bottom that can also hold the wireless dongle.
Quoting: RTherenBeware guys/gals.
This has a very high potential of being scam
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d00I_3THLBQ" target="_blank">View video on youtube.com</a>
Yep, this is why I said in my post that I'm not going to buy this until I see working, final units in the wild. I want an AMD based portable console, but I don't want it enough to throw the money away before they have proof it's a real thing.
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me