AMD Ryzen 7 8700G & Ryzen 5 8600G APU Review: Modern APUs For A Modern Platform

It's been almost three years since AMD introduced its previous-generation Ryzen APUs. The Ryzen 5000 APUs were based on the Zen 3 CPU and Vega GPU architecture and were supported on the AM4 platform. A year later, AMD introduced its Ryzen 7000 CPUs based on the brand new Zen 4 core architecture and also packed an RDNA 2 iGPU for display and debugging purposes. The shift to AM5 remains a major one for AMD and the company has so far released several SKUs in its 7000 family but what was truly missing from this platform were more budget options, especially APUs. It looks like AMD was waiting for the right time and with the AM5 platform now far more optimized & stable than it was at launch, it is prime time to release the next-generation of APUs for the masses.

The AMD Ryzen 8000G is the next-gen family of APUs. Codenamed Hawk Point, these APUs are a slightly tuned version of the Phoenix APUs we saw on laptop last year and were also released for the laptop segment as the Ryzen 8040 series. For desktops, you get higher clocks, higher TDPs & a range of tuning capabilities. AMD officially unveiled four APUs for the AM5 Desktop PC platform which utilize a monolithic Zen 4 processor and RDNA 3 graphics core package and are compatible with any AM5 motherboard on the market.

Starting with the specifications, the AMD Ryzen 8000G "Hawk Point" APU lineup includes a total of four SKUs which include the Ryzen 7 8700G, Ryzen 5 8600G, Ryzen 5 8500G, and Ryzen 3 8300G. At a bird's eye view, these APUs are technically the same on an architectural level but the 8500G and the 8300G are a hybrid combination of Zen 4 and Zen 4C cores for entry-level desktop PCs with an aggressive control over power.

The AMD Ryzen 7 8700G is the top Hawk Point APU, featuring 8 cores, 16 threads, 16 MB of L3, and 8 MB of L2 cache. This chip has a base clock of 4.2 GHz and a boost clock of 5.1 GHz and has a TDP of 65W. The chip features the Radeon 780M iGPU with 12 compute units clocked at 2900 MHz, the fastest clock yet on an RDNA 3 integrated graphics chip. The APU will be priced at $329 US.

Moving on, we have the AMD Ryzen 5 8600G which is a 6-core and 12-thread APU with 16 MB of L3 and 6 MB of L2 cache. This chip has a base clock of 4.3 GHz and a boost clock of 5.0 GHz with the same 65W TDP. The GPU is a Radeon 760M iGPU with 8 compute units clocked at 2800 MHz. The APU will be priced at $229 US.

Next up, we have the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G which is another 6-core and 12-thread chip that makes use of that aforementioned hybrid configuration with 2 Zen 4 and 4 Zen 4C cores with a base clock of 3.5 GHz and a boost clock of 5.0 GHz. The chip also carries a total of 22 MB cache but the Radeon GPU is reduced to the Radeon 740M with 4 Compute Units clocked at 2700 MHz.

Lastly, we have the Ryzen 3 8300G which is a 4-core and 8-thread chip with 1 Zen 4 and 3 Zen 4C cores. The chip features 12 MB of total cache, has a base clock speed of 3.4 GHz, and a boost clock speed of 4.9 GHz. It comes with a 65W TDP and the same Radeon 740M iGPU. The Ryzen 5 8500G will retail for $179 US while the Ryzen 3 8300G will be OEM only.

Another feature of the top two AMD Ryzen 8000G "Hawk Point" APUs (8700G / 8600G) is that they are equipped with the same XDNA "Ryzen AI" NPU as the Ryzen 8040 series. This NPU is clocked at 1.6 GHz and offers a combined 39 TOPS of AI processing power with 16 TOPs coming directly from the NPU. Once again, this is a 60% increase over the Ryzen 7040's NPU which offered 10 TOPs. It's mentioned that the Ryzen AI enables over 100 AI experiences within Windows OS.

Coming to the most significant aspect of these chips, the gaming performance, AMD is touting a 4x uplift versus the Intel iGPU solutions offered on its UHD 770 graphics chips featured in 14th/13th Gen Desktop CPUs. According to the performance metrics published by AMD, the Ryzen 8000G line offers budget gamers the ability to enjoy 1080p @ 60 FPS gaming across a range of AAA titles with the use of Adrenaline features such as HYPR-RX and Fluid Motion.

In eSports titles, these APUs can deliver over 100 average FPS at 1080p (low settings) without the need to buy a separate graphics card.

And even when paired with a discrete graphics card, the AMD Zen 4 core architecture delivers a respectable performance versus the previous generation of chips. You can easily get over 100 FPS across a range of titles as AMD showcases in its demonstration where a Ryzen 7 8700G is running alongside a Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card. The 8 Zen 4 cores will be good enough to ensure minimal CPU-bound scenarios at lower resolutions such as 1080p which is still widely popular in the gaming space.

An interesting comparison made by AMD is a system-to-system comparison that compares an Intel Core i3-13400F + GTX 1650 build with a Ryzen 7 8700G + iGPU build. The Ryzen 8000G "Hawk Point" APU offers similar and up to 31% better performance without the need to pair it with a discrete graphics card at a lower price ($329 AMD vs $410 Intel). Even in productivity benchmarks, the AMD Ryzen 8700G simply crushes the Core i5-13400F with up to 4.6x better performance in multi-thread workloads.

The AMD Ryzen 8000G "Hawk Point" APUs including the Ryzen 7 8700G, Ryzen 5 8600G, and Ryzen 5 8500G are now available. Systems equipped with the Ryzen 3 8300G are also going to start appearing around the same time and the chip will be sold as a DIY option in the future too. As for users upgrading to the new chips, motherboard makers have released a new BIOS which comes with full support for these chips.

As mentioned earlier, AM4's reign is finally over and the AM5 socket is here now. The new socket moves from a PGA (Pin-Grid-Array) design to an LGA (Land-Grid-Array) layout. The new LGA 1718 socket offers more pin connections to the CPU, allowing for more communication channels with the board itself and enabling support for enhanced features that the new platform has to offer.

As for longevity, AMD hasn't promised anything but they have stated that they want to see the new AM5 socket last at least four to five years, similar to AM4. While there has been a lot of controversy regarding Ryzen support on the initial AM4 motherboards, I believe that AMD has learned and will not follow the same route as AM5. With that said, the AM4 platform will continue forward & will be supported in the foreseeable future (possibly with newer hardware and software launches).

The AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs will feature a perfect square shape (45x45mm) but will house a very chonky integrated heat spreader or IHS. The CPUs will be the same length, width, and height as the existing Ryzen Desktop CPUs and are sealed across the sides so applying thermal paste won't fill the interior of the IHS with TIM. That's also why current coolers will be fully compatible with Ryzen 7000 chips.

Subscribe to get an everyday digest of the latest technology news in your inbox

Some posts on wccftech.com may contain affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

© 2024 WCCF TECH INC. 700 - 401 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada

You need to login to use this feature.