AMD Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G review: Integrated graphics wins

AMD’s first Ryzen 8000 desktop processors are now available: the $329 8700G, the $229 8600G, the $176 8500G, and the OEM-only 8300G. These 4nm APUs look to be adapted versions of the Ryzen 7040 laptop processors we tested late last year, featuring current-generation Zen 4 CPU cores and powerful RDNA 3 graphics. AMD sent us two top-tier chips: the Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G, which feature dedicated Ryzen AI hardware not found in other chipsets.

To gauge these new models, we tested their standalone performance (page two) and when paired with discrete graphics cards (pages three through five). On both fronts, we found some impressive features – which could make the Ryzen 8700G or 8600G a smart choice for entry-level gaming, media PCs, or as a stopgap while waiting for the next generation of graphics cards.

Looking at the specs makes for interesting reading. While there’s a $100 MSRP difference between the eight-core Ryzen 8700G and the six-core 8600G, the two chips are surprisingly similar in most respects, with the 8700G having just 2MB of additional L2 cache (8MB vs. 6MB) and being rated higher The 100MHz has higher speeds (5.1GHz vs. 5.0GHz) and a more powerful Wraith Spire cooler than the smaller Wraith Stealth the 8600G offers. TDP, L3 cache size and AI performance are all the same. There is a noticeable difference in GPU performance, however, with the 8700G featuring a more powerful 12CU Radeon 780M graphics solution than the 8600G’s 8CU 760M.

*Includes A620 motherboard

Before we get into the results, it’s worth briefly covering the hardware we tested these CPUs on. In short, we’re using the same basic settings as our Ryzen 7800X3D review. That means AMD’s recommended G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo DDR5-6000 CL30 RAM and Asus’ RTX 3090 Strix OC graphics card. Cooling provided by Eisbaer Aurora 240mm AiO.

Our AMD Ryzen 7000 CPU motherboard is an ASRock X670E Taichi, while a Gigabyte Aorus Z790 Master is responsible for our Intel CPU. (AMD does also offer a cheaper ASRock B650 Pro RS motherboard, which is a smarter choice for a low-cost APU, but we didn’t want to introduce another unnecessary variable into our testing.)

For storage, we used a 4TB Lexar NM790 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD and a 1TB Corsair MP600 Mini to store some additional games. Our equipment comes with a 1000W Corsair RM1000x power supply. Testing was conducted with the latest Windows updates and BIOS revision (2.06.AS03 Beta) installed.

Before we get into the iGPU and CPU gaming benchmarks on pages three through six, let’s quickly run some quick content creation benchmarks: Cinebench R20 3D Rendering and Handbrake Video Transcoding. These results are useful even in a gaming context, as they set expectations for single-core and multi-core performance.

Cinebench’s R20 single-threaded benchmark showed only a small gap between the two APUs, with 664 for the 8700G and 621 for the 8600G – both were significantly behind the 700 seconds recorded by the Ryzen 7000 desktop CPU and on par with the previous-generation Ryzen 5000 models. More consistent – This is not surprising for an APU based on a laptop part, which has most of its chip area devoted to graphics processing.

Multi-core results also show a drop in performance compared to a full-fat desktop Ryzen 7000 CPU, with the 8700G still lagging behind the 7700X despite having the same core count (6888 vs. 7894), as is the performance of the 8600G and 7600X (5304 vs. 7700X ). Chapter 6063) Still, these are far ahead of Ryzen 5000 parts, meaning you won’t be at a serious disadvantage even in the most demanding multi-core workloads.

For anyone who records video, the Handbrake video transcoding test is a more realistic example of a possible workload (usually you record uncompressed video and need to compress it before sharing) and shows similar results.

Averages of about 44fps and about 36fps for h.264 encoding put both APUs a tier below what their core counts would indicate – the 7800G is very similar to the 7600X, while the 7600G is a bit behind the 7500F. HEVC encoding was slower as always, with results of around 21fps and around 18fps equally solid but lackluster. There doesn’t appear to be a significant improvement in power consumption compared to Ryzen 7000 alternatives with the same core count, although running these APUs without a graphics card connected certainly results in lower overall power consumption.

Now, let’s get into the meat of the test – a series of games and scenarios that test the integrated graphics and raw processing power of these APUs in different ways. Select your favorite title from the links below or click the Next Page button to continue.

AMD Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G Analysis

• Introduction, test equipment, and content creation benchmarks [this page]
• iGPU gaming benchmarks: F1 23, CS:GO, Far Cry 6, Cyberpunk 2077
• Game benchmarks: Flight Simulator 2020, Hitman 3, Ashes of the Singularity
• Game benchmark: “Counter-Strike: GO”, “Metro Exodus” EE, “Black Ops Cold War”
• Game benchmarks: “Cyberpunk 2077”, “Far Cry 6”, “Crysis 3 Remastered”
• AMD Ryzen 7 8700G vs. Ryzen 5 8600G: Digital Foundry Verdict