AMD Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G Hands-On Test

AMD has finally revealed four of its latest Ryzen 8000G series desktop processors, the Ryzen 7 8700G, Ryzen 5 8600G, Ryzen 5 8500G, and Ryzen 3 8300G. These processors will feature the AMD Radeon 700M GPUs but the Ryzen 7 8700G, and Ryzen 5 8600G are based on the existing Zen 4 architecture, while the Ryzen 5 8500G and Ryzen 3 8300G are based on the newer Zen 4c architecture.

We got our hands on the Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G this time and are looking forward to seeing what kind of performance they can deliver – will it be the GTX 1650-like performance like what AMD claims or the other way around?

Specifications

Overview

Although both the APUs come included with a box cooler, the Ryzen 7 8700G is paired with a better Wraith Spire CPU cooler while the Ryzen 5 8600G gets the Wraith Stealth. We will be using the included box cooler to test these APUs, just so we can see if they’re suitable for each respective model.

One thing to take note of is that the Ryzen AI NPU is only available on both Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G, not on the Ryzen 5 8500G and Ryzen 3 8300G.

Test System Setup

All the benchmarks shown in this article are done using the following setup and the settings related to the APUs are left untouched.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Based on the test results, we can see that the single-core performance for both the Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G are very similar on many occasions. The performance differences will appear more significant in tests that will utilize the extra cores and threads on the Ryzen 7 8700G. For tests that will utilize the GPUs, we can also see the advantage of the Radeon 780M over the Radeon 760M, especially with LuxMark 3.1 using both GPU, and GPU + CPU presets.

Game Benchmarks

AMD has specifically mentioned that the Ryzen 8700G can deliver performance that is similar to the GeForce GTX 1650 but since we don’t have any GTX 1650 with us right now, we will just show you the performance difference between the Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G this time.

While AMD never specifically mentioned anything about what kind of framerates are they getting or how playable the games that have been tested are during their presentation, we can see that these titles are somewhat playable to an extent. I’m sure that the GTX 1650 can do better than this even with High graphics settings but I’d say it’s still kind of fair if we look at the total power consumption of the APU itself and the performance it can deliver.

For newer titles that have the AMD Fluid Motion Frames feature, the alternative to NVIDIA’s DLSS Frame Generation that is exclusively available on the new RTX 40 series GPUs, both the Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G can take advantage of it to deliver an even higher and playable framerates. However, I will recommend you give up any thoughts of giving ray tracing a try because everything looks crappy the moment ray tracing is enabled and you’re getting much lower framerates.

Power Draw & Thermals

Despite having a rated TDP of 65W, both the Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G can pull up to 87-88W at full load. If we look at the specs of the box cooler, the Wraith Spire can handle up to 95W while the Wraith Stealth can handle up to 65W.  So in this case, the Ryzen 7 8700G can remain at a reasonable 70°C range throughout most of the tests after peaking at 92°C. The Ryzen 5 8600G, on the other hand, peaked at 94.7°C during the stress test but remained at around 88°C until the end of the test.

Verdict

The AMD Ryzen 8000G series demonstrates impressive performance, showing just how capable the combination of both CPU and GPU components in a single unit can be. Unlike the past where compromises were necessary, these processors, such as the Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G, exhibit impressive performance for daily computing tasks, making them suitable for work and entertainment. However, when it comes to graphics-intensive games, the APU still has limitations. For less graphics-demanding tasks or work, Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G are excellent choices.

Noteworthy is the impact of software features like AMD FidelityFX, providing a notable enhancement in gaming experiences. With FidelityFX FSR, even at low settings, graphics remain better than expected, and FidelityFX FSR 3 Frame Generation significantly boosts FPS, resulting in smoother gameplay. but the limited bandwidth with PCIe 4.0 X8 limits the options of dedicated GPU you can go with the Ryzen 8000G series APUs. However, for AAA gaming, pairing the system with a dedicated GPU is recommended. Despite current limitations, AMD’s continuous hardware and software improvements indicate promising advancements in future APU offerings. This anticipation keeps us excited for AMD’s next-generation APU.