Best AMD APU in 2024 – Ryzen’s best APU for gaming
AMD Ryzen Integrated Graphics Could Be The Answer For A Budget-Focused Gamer?
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When it comes to building your dream gaming PC, buying a standalone CPU and GPU isn’t always the most affordable options. Luckily, APUs (Accelerate Processing Unit) offer the best of both worlds and don’t cost nearly as much – making them a great choice for DIY PC builders on a budget.
But how are you supposed to know which APU is best for your specific needs? Well, that’s where we lend a helping hand. Here at WePC, we’ve reviewed some of the best processors the market has to offer, giving us the knowledge and insight to confidently recommend the best APU for gaming.
Best APU for gaming: At a glance
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AMD Ryzen 7 8700G
- Speed: 4.2-5.1 GHz
- Core (threads): 8 (16)
- Socket: AM5
- Graphics: Radeon 780M
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AMD Ryzen 5 8500G
- Speed: 3.5-5.0 GHz
- Core (threads): 6 (12)
- Socket: AM5
- Graphics: Radeon 740M
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AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
- Speed: 3.8GHz – 4.6GHz
- Core (threads): 8 (16)
- Socket: AM4
- Graphics: Vega 8
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AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
- Speed: 3.9GHz – 4.4GHz
- Core (threads): 6 (12)
- Socket: AM4
- Graphics: Vega 7
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AMD Ryzen 5 3400G
- Speed: 3.7GHz – 4.2GHz
- Core (threads): 4/8
- Socket: AM4
- TDP: 65W
Before we do though, it’s worth mentioning that an APU will not replace a standalone CPU or GPU when it comes to gaming performance. Even the very best APUs for gaming won’t offer the performance provided by a standalone mid-range CPU and GPU configuration. So, before you dive into buying an APU, it’s worth understanding what they can and can’t provide in terms of performance – something we discuss later on in the guide.
That being said, there are plenty of scenarios in which an APU is a perfectly acceptable choice. Users building a mini PC for light work and gaming, for example, would be an ideal situation in which to buy a cheaper APU.
With that in mind, let’s waste no further time and dive into the market’s best APUs for gaming.
Best Ryzen APU for gaming
- Speed: 4.2-5.1 GHz
- Core (threads): 8 (16)
- Socket: AM5
- Graphics: Radeon 780M
- Great graphics performance
- On the newer platform utilizing latest features
- Bundled coolers
- Top power efficiency
- More expensive platform to jump on
Now at the top of the pack, you can find the Ryzen 7 8700G as part of the newer generation choice that AMD is bringing to the AM5 platform with integrated graphics. It upgrades to Radeon graphics bringing plenty of features to the processor with the AMD Adrenalin software now accessible to it.
It comes with 8 cores and 16 threads for matching with the best abilities of CPUs. While it also boosts to much higher speeds than previous generations. For the cache capacity, L2 provides you with 8MB and L3 goes up to 16MB, so not quite X3D levels but still a good amount.
For graphics, you get Radeon version 780M with 12 cores and running at 2.9GHz. That boosts the capabilities but also the processor comes with Ryzen AI with 16 TOPS for some light work capabilities of what it can achieve. Even then the processor only has a 65W TDP and has a great efficiency for what it is capable of, although you can even push that further as it is overclockable if you still desire.
- Speed: 3.5-5.0 GHz
- Core (threads): 6 (12)
- Socket: AM5
- Graphics: Radeon 740M
- Bundled coolers
- Low cost to buy
- More expensive platform to jump on
- Lacks NPU
For a cheaper choice out of the lot of new 8000Gs, the Ryzen 5 8500G is the option to go for. It drops down the price but also the specs of the processor. Getting rid of the AI processing capabilities of the processor but cutting it to under $200, does make it a strong choice of an APU.
The cores fall to 6 and threads down to 12, still giving you a good capability with processing workloads and graphics. These can even boost up to 5GHz, not as far as the 8700G but still a well-capable option. As for the cache you get 6MB of L2 and 16MB of L3 so nothing changes in that, which is also the case for the TDP as that 65W spec stays the same. But the Radeon graphics also drop down a couple of tiers to 740M with only 4 cores, running at a 2,800Mhz frequency. You can only expect 720p true performance and light 1080p work with a good framerate achieved with some help.
- Speed: 3.8GHz – 4.6GHz
- Core (threads): 8 (16)
- Socket: AM4
- Graphics: Vega 8
- Most powerful
- Whopping 8 cores and 16 threads
- Increased efficiency & performance
- Inexpensive now thanks to age
- Less powerful than a GPU
The Ryzen 7 5700G is AMD’s current flagship APU and is widely considered to be the world’s most powerful thanks to the integrated graphics the chip comes paired with. Unlike the previous gen, this features a higher amount of cores, increased speeds, and a more efficient design.
The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G comes equipped with 8 cores and 16 threads, respectively. It features impressive clock speeds of 3.8GHz base and 4.6GHz boost, alongside a total of 16MB L3 cache and 4MB L2 cache. TDP will be equivalent to its predecessor at 65W and it brings VEGA 8 integrated graphics, with 8 CUs and 512 stream processors (all running at 2.0GHz).
While the 5700G is the most expensive APU from AMD to date, it is also by far the most powerful. With the current GPU climate, the 5700G can provide you with solid processing power and integrated graphics. While the integrated graphics may not be good enough for everyone, basic 1080p performance is there. Furthermore, when you finally get your hands on a dedicated GPU, you can easily slot it in with this APU for a quality overall gaming PC.
- Speed: 3.6GHz – 4.6GHz
- Cores (Threads): 6 (12)
- Socket: AM4
- Graphics: Vega 7
- Budget Friendly
- 6 cores and 12 threads
- Built in graphics suitable for basic gaming
- benefits from FSR
- Not the greatest value
AMD’s latest Ryzen 5 5600GT is an excellent choice for budget-conscious builders. It offers a decent combination of affordability and performance, and a slight boost over the 5600G. It follows in the footsteps of the older 3400G, providing solid gaming capabilities while ushering in significant improvements in core count and design efficiency.
In terms of specifications, the Ryzen 5 5600GT boasts 6 cores and 12 threads, with base and boost clock speeds of 3.6GHz and 4.6GHz, respectively. Like its sibling, the 5700G, it offers a generous 16MB of L3 cache, albeit with a slightly reduced 3MB of L2 cache. Despite these improvements, the APU maintains an energy-efficient 65W TDP and includes AMD’s VEGA 7 iGPU, clocked at 1.9GHz and equipped with 448 stream processors.
While the choice of the Vega 7 iGPU may initially appear to be a step backward, the gains in efficiency more than make up for the reduction in core count, ensuring that the graphical performance remains strong without compromising on power efficiency.
- Speed: 3.7GHz – 4.2GHz
- Core (threads): 4/8
- Socket: AM4
- TDP: 65W
- Extremely well priced, powerful APU with onboard VEGA 11 graphics
- Compatible with 300/400 series AM4 motherboards
- Get 30fps on most AAA games titles (with optimized graphics)
- Bios update needed if you want to use older motherboards
The AMD Ryzen 5 3400G, a former flagship APU from AMD, is renowned for its outstanding performance, largely owing to its integrated graphics capabilities. This chip, a significant step up from the 3200G, boasts 4 cores and 8 threads, 6MB of cache, and the impressive VEGA 11 graphics engine. Although it is scraping the bottom of the barrel in 2024, this CPU is not something that will take you very far with AAA titles even in 1080p.
With a base clock speed of 3.7GHz and a boost clock of 4.2GHz, the 3400G represents a substantial improvement over its predecessor. AMD has further enhanced its performance with high-quality metal TIM (thermal interface material) and support for AMD’s precision boost overdrive, a feature that intelligently overclocks the chip as needed.
The integrated GPU operates at a base clock of 1,400MHz, a notable 150MHz faster than its predecessor, the 2400G. Additionally, like the 3200G, the 3400G includes AMD’s Wraith Spire CPU cooler, ensuring efficient thermal management.
What truly sets the 3400G apart is its exceptional value proposition. With a retail price of under $150, it offers tremendous performance for the cost, especially considering that its predecessor, the 2400G, was initially priced at $170.
What is an AMD APU?
While the Accelerated Processing Unit is a very attractive name, make no mistake: an APU is just a single chip that combines a CPU and a GPU. Many Intel processors using Integrated graphics, for instance, are essentially the same as APUs. That being said, though, their graphics chips are much less powerful than the ones inside these Ryzen APUs.
Note; you can also use these strictly as CPUs by adding a dedicated GPU to your setup.
A similar concept in a different sector of the industry is “SoCs.” SoC stands for System on Chip, and these tend to combine all components of the system onto a single, well, chip. This is seen most often in gaming consoles (both the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, for instance, are using AMD SoCs), smartphones, and on rare occasions, laptops.
Are AMD planning on releasing 9000-series APUs?
AMD’s new Ryzen 9000-series CPU lineup has been at the center of attention recently, with the brand’s XOC team smashing through numerous records in a live demo hosted recently.
But are AMD planning on releasing 9000-series APUs?
At the time of writing this, we only know of four CPUs in the 9000-series lineup; Ryzen 9 9950X, Ryzen 9 9900X, Ryzen 7 7900X, and Ryzen 5 9600X. The next-gen lineup of CPUs are set to launch on the 31st of July, 2024, and right now, there have been no signs of an APU joining the lineup.
Things to consider when choosing an APU
There are several factors to consider when buying an APU for your next build – especially one used for gaming. For that reason, we’ll be explaining some of the key performance-impacting features of APU below.
What’s the best RAM for my APU?
Pairing your Ryzen CPU with suitable RAM is more important than you might think. Ryzen CPU core communication speed is directly correlated to RAM speed, essentially meaning the slower the RAM the slower the CPU – without getting overly complicated. Intel CPUs aren’t affected in this manner as their CPUs are constructed a little differently.
This is especially true for APUs as the system’s RAM is also used as VRAM for the integrated graphics. Whether this is a Vega iGPU or a Radeon RX iGPU, it’s the same case for both.
This is because the integrated graphics portion of the Chip is built directly into the CPU, instead of being on a spacious GPU PCB where VRAM can be built with ease. Because of the spacial limitations being built into a CPU package presents, the iGPU has to get creative and use the already available system RAM as Video RAM.
The sweet spot for AM4 Ryzen CPUs is 3600MHz, this speed of DDR4 RAM gives you the best returns, any speed beyond this you’ll receive diminishing returns and as a result, less value for money. If you’re planning on building a PC centered around an APU, it’s a good idea to invest in a higher RAM capacity for reasons we mentioned earlier, to make sure the iGPU RAM requirements do not interfere with the rest of the system requirements. As for AM5 APUs, and the Ryzen 8000G processors, DDR5 is the RAM you want. There you want to look at around 6000MHz.
Clock speed
Clock speed is the measurement of how many times per second a CPU can complete what’s called an instruction Cycle, this cycle consists of three main actions. These actions are: fetch, decode, and execute. And it’s these three actions that make up the fundamentals of CPU operation as we know it.
This isn’t just for desktop processors, this is the same on the mobile platform and OEM too, although clocked lower for efficiency’s sake because of the power constraints being a mobile platform brings.
Generally, when discussing and comparing CPUs in the same architecture, CPUs with the same or greater number of cores and a higher clock speed will perform better. – this is also a single-core performance metric, as cores with higher clock speeds will perform better in single-core workloads.
Core count
The more CPU cores your CPU has the better at multitasking it will be. However, it all depends on whether the application or software you are using is coded for multiple cores. Some older programs are not and will generally perform no better when given access to more cores. For software that does support multi-core utilization, more cores are better.
Core count is a metric for multi-core performance, As CPUs with a higher number of cores will perform better in multicore workloads, due to the abundance of available CPU cores. If you’re interested in seeing how these APUs stack up, then check out our CPU hierarchy.
Threads
Threads tell a similar story to cores, more threads make for a CPU that’s better at multitasking natively. However, cores and threads are not created equal.
All of the APUs on the list support SMT (Simultaneous Multithreading). This is AMD’s version of Intel’s Hyperthreading. This is a technology that allows one CPU core to process and execute two instructions at once. This means that the operating system can see and utilize your CPU as if it had double the number of physical cores. The collection of cores and threads is labeled ‘logical processors’ by operating systems.
These threads are known as V-cores and are virtual, so named because they do not physically exist or occupy space on the CPU die. These virtual cores have to share resources with the physical cores and threads suffer slower processing speeds as a result. Again SMT relies on software integration and compatibility but it’s better to have and not need than to need and not have. Most modern software has multithreading integration and support.
If you want to know more about SMT you can read our in-depth feature on SMT.
Graphics
Graphics refers to the included “GPU.” In this case, the hierarchy starts with Vega 8 on the budget APU and ends with Vega 11 at the highest end, for now. If you’re interested in seeing how these compare, then check out the comparable graphics cards below and our GPU hierarchy.
The iGPUs inside these APUs are very underpowered compared to dedicated graphics powered by your GPU. With that being said, however, you shouldn’t write them off. APUs can be powerful enough for low-end 1080P gaming. Especially with the advancements made in AMD FSR and RSR.
Other useful links
We have a large range of in-depth buyer guides here on WePC and we would hate it if you missed the chance to read them, feel free to check out any of the related guides below.
- APU vs CPU vs GPU
- Gaming CPUs
- AM4 Motherboards
- B450 & X470 Motherboards
- MAX Motherboards
- Thermal Paste
- CPU Coolers
Final word
In the ever-evolving landscape of gaming APUs, AMD continues to push the boundaries with its impressive 8000G series chips, offering a harmonious fusion of CPU and GPU technologies. While standalone components may still outshine APUs in specific aspects, the unique advantages they bring to the table are hard to overlook. Now, with the new RDNA3 iGPUs, the possibilities are endless and offer theoretical performance gains of 3x over the 5000G series APUs.
