Within AMD’s freshly launched Radeon Adrenalin 26.9.2 graphics driver, an undisclosed APU codenamed ‘Gainsborough’ was inadvertently revealed. This codename surfaced in the driver’s Import/Export database file, igniting industry conjecture that it might serve as the processor for Valve’s upcoming next-generation Steam Deck. This hint was first spotted by a user on the AnandTech forum. Despite AMD’s official driver notes not referencing Gainsborough, customs import/export data indicate that test devices outfitted with this chip were dispatched multiple times from Asia in late July.

Gainsborough employs a BGA FF6 package featuring 1,179 contacts, closely mirroring the specifications of the custom APU utilized in the current Steam Deck OLED. Industry analysts speculate that this is likely the bespoke processor for the Steam Deck 2, with its naming convention adhering to the same Final Fantasy VII character theme as the custom APU codenamed ‘Aerith’ used in the first-generation Steam Deck.

Regarding specifications, Gainsborough is anticipated to leverage TSMC’s N3P process, encompassing 4 to 8 Zen 6c CPU cores and 12 to 24 RDNA 5 compute units for the GPU, signaling a substantial performance enhancement over its predecessor. Nevertheless, neither AMD nor Valve has officially disclosed the actual intent behind the Gainsborough chip, and the final product configuration remains ambiguous.