Amongst a sea of handheld gaming PCs with similar designs, the GPD Win Max 2 stands out. Instead of a screen squeezed between a set of game controllers, this little computer is more of a mini-laptop has a 10.1 inch display and a QWERTY keyboard that’s just big enough for touch-typing. But it’s also clearly meant to be held in two hands so you can reach the game controllers above that keyboard with your thumbs.
GPD first launched the Win Max 2 in 2022, when it shipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 6800U processor. The company released an updated model in 2023 with Ryzen 7040U processor options that delivered a significant boost in CPU and graphics performance. And now GPD is preparing to launch the GPD Win Max 2 (2024) with Ryzen 8040U processor options.
The new model is very similar to the 2023 version, since AMD’s Ryzen 8040U chips are virtually identical to their 7040U counterparts in most respects.
But AMD has improved the performance of the neural processing unit by up to 60 percent and The Phawx notes that there’s at least one other benefit – AMD’s Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS) can be enabled on devices with Ryzen 8040U chips for better frame rates in some games.
For the most part that’s probably not enough reason for somebody with the 2023 model to trade it in for the new version. But the GPD Win Max 2 (2024) could be a little more attractive for folks in the market for a new mini gaming laptop this year.
GPD first teased plans late last year to launch a model with an upgraded processor, but now the company says it’ll launch a crowdfunding campaign for the Win Max (2024) in late April. That’s when customers worldwide will be able to pre-order one.
But folks in China will get a chance to place their orders earlier – ITHome reports that the little computer goes up for pre-order in that country on April 7th, 2024.
Here’s how the new model stacks up against its predecessors:
| GPD Win Max 2 (2024, 8840U) | GPD Win Max 2 (2024, 8640U) | GPD Win Max 2 (2023, 7840U) | GPD Win Max 2 (2023, 7640U) | GPD Win Max 2 (2022, AMD) | |
| Display | 10.1 inches 2560 x 1600 pixels 10-point capacitive touch Pen support (4096 levels pressure sensitivity) |
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| Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 8840U Zen 4 architecture 8-cores / 16-threads 3.3 GHz – 5.1 GHz 15-30W TPD |
AMD Ryzen 5 8640U Zen 4 architecture 6-cores / 12-threads 3.5 GHz – 4.1 GHz 15-30 TPD |
AMD Ryzen 7 7840U Zen 4 architecture 8-cores / 16-threads 3.3 GHz – 5.1 GHz 15-35W TPD |
AMD Ryzen 5 7640U Zen 4 architecture 6-cores / 12-threads 3.5 GHz – 4.9 GHz 15-35W TDP |
AMD Ryzen 7 6800U Zen 3+ architecture 8-cores / 16-threads 2.7 GHz – 4.7 GHz 15-28W TDP |
| GPU | Radeon 780M RDNA 3 architecture 12 compute units 2.7 GHz |
Radeon 760M RDNA 3 architecture 8 compute units 2.6 GHz |
Radeon 780M RDNA 3 architecture 12 compute units 2.7 GHz |
Radeon 760M RDNA 3 architecture 8 compute units 2.6 GHz |
AMD Radeon 680M RDNA 2 architecture 12 Compute Units 2.2 GHz |
| NPU | Ryzen AI Up to 16 TOPS |
Ryzen AI Up to 10 TOPS |
None | ||
| RAM | LPDDR5x-7500 32GB or 64GB |
LPDDR5x-7500 16GB |
LPDDR5-6400 16GB or 32GB Supports up to 64GB |
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| Storage | M.2 2280 & M.2 2230 PCIe Gen 4.0 Sold with up to 2TB (M.2 2280) Supports up to 16TB (8TB per slot) SD card reader microSD card reader |
M.2 2280 & M.2 2230 PCIe Gen 4.0 & PCIe Gen 3 Sold with up to 2TB (M.2 2280) Supports up to 16TB (8TB per slot) SD card reader microSD card reader |
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| Ports | 1 x USB4 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A 1 x HDMI 2.1 1 x Oculink (SFF-8612) |
1 x USB4 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A 1 x HDMI 2.1 |
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| Audio & video | Quad speakers 3.5mm audio jack 2MP Webcam (below display) |
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| Input | QWERTY keyboard (backlit) Game controllers Motion sensors |
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| Security | Fingerprint sensor | ||||
| Battery & Charging | 67 Wh battery 100W USB Type-C |
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| Wireless | WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.2 4G LTE (optional) |
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| Material | Aluminum-magnesium alloy | ||||
| Dimensions | 227 x 160 x 23mm | ||||
| Weight | 1005 grams | ||||
| Price (during crowdfunding) | ? | ? | $1049 (32GB + 2TB) $1199 (64GB + 2TB) |
$799 (16GB + 1TB) | $999 |
While international pricing hasn’t been announced yet, we do know how much the Win Max 2 (2024) will cost in China:
- Ryzen 5 7640U/16GB/1TB for 5,899 RMB (retail) or 4,999 RMB (pre-order)
- Ryzen 7 8840U/32GB/2TB for 7,999 RMB (retail) or 6,399 RMB (pre-order)
- Ryzen 7 8840U/64GB/2TB for 8,999 RMB (retail) or 7,399 RMB (pre-order)
The GPD website also indicates that there will be models with Ryzen 5 8640U processors, so I can’t tell if that model with the 7640U chip for the Chinese market is officially part of the Win Max 2 (2024) family or if GPD is just trying to move some remaining inventory of the 2023 model.
While you can’t really make an apples-to-apples comparison between Chinese and US pricing, the pre-order prices for China equate to about $890 for the entry-level model, $885 for the middle-spec version and $1025 for the top-tier model.
