Almost three years after AMD introduced its last desktop APU series, the integrated CPU + budget GPU chips are back in the form of the 8000G series. The new series consists of four models, all of which use the Zen 4 CPU and RDNA 3 GPU architecture. The best GPUs are unfortunately only available on the most expensive ones, but they may be the perfect APU for many gamers looking to build a compact PC this year.

The lineup starts with the Ryzen 3 8300G with 4 cores and 8 threads, a 4.9 GHz boost clock, 12 MB of L2 and L3 cache, and a Radeon 740M GPU. This GPU has 256 shaders, so you can't expect much in the way of gaming performance. To put this in perspective, this is half the number of shaders on the Steam Deck GPU.

Ryzen 5 comes in two models, the 8500G and the 8600G. Both have a 6-core, 12-thread, 22 MB cache, 5.0 GHz CPU, but differ in terms of the GPU. The former has a Radeon 740M, the same as the 8300G, while the 8600G has a Radeon 760M. This is 512 shaders, so it should be comparable to Steam Deck. It also has a Ryzen AI chip, a dedicated processor for handling machine learning calculations. [It has 8 cores, 16 threads, 24MB of cache, and a boost clock of 5.1GHz. In charge of graphics is a Radeon 780M with 768 shaders. Like the 8600G, it also includes a Ryzen AI chip for AI.

Interestingly, all four 8000G models have the same TDP (thermal design power) limit of 65W. While this number makes sense for the 8700G, it is not unreasonable to think that the 8300G and 8500G could use a lower value. Especially considering that these two chips are physically different from the other two.

Although AMD doesn't specifically say so, the new 8000G processor is a repackaged Ryzen 7040U laptop chip, the 8600G and 8700G are the original Phoenix design, and the 8500G and 8300G are the new Phoenix 2. These do not have Ryzen AI processors: they are not disabled, they are physically absent.

They also have different CPU core layouts. The top two 8000G APUs have Zen 4 CPU cores, while the bottom two have a Zen 4 + Zen 4c combination. The base Ryzen 3 8300G has one Zen 4 core and three Zen 4c cores, while the Ryzen 5 8500G has two Zen 4 cores and four Zen 4c cores.

Architecturally, there is no difference between Zen 4 and 4c: this is purely how everything is arranged internally, but it costs money to cram in all sorts of things to make the cores 35% smaller Zen 4c is not designed to run as fast as standard Zen 4 It is not designed to run as fast as the standard Zen 4, but AMD has said nothing at all about whether the clock speeds of the various cores will be different.

As for maximum boost clocks, there is little difference between the 8000G models, but the difference in base clocks is significant: the 8300G and 8500G have base clocks of 3.2GHz and 3.4GHz respectively, while the fully Zen 4-based 8600G and 8700G have base clocks of 4 .3GHz and 4.2GHz (yes, this is the correct notation). To me, the significantly lower base clocks of the bottom two models suggest that the Zen 4c cores do not achieve the boost clocks indicated, only those of the Zen 4.

And this is why the all Zen 4 Ryzen 7 8700G is by far the best of the new lineup. It has by far the best GPU and better CPU performance than the others. We know this simply because we have tested every handheld PC that uses the Ryzen 7040U processor. It also explains why AMD specifically chose the 8700G as a comparative benchmark.

Comparing this new APU against the Intel Core i5-13400F and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 combination, the Ryzen 7 8700G was 1.1x faster overall in AMD's selected games and 2.1x faster overall in various synthetic and productivity benchmarks The Ryzen 7 8700G was 2.1x faster overall in a variety of synthetic and productivity benchmarks. The latter is not at all surprising given that the 13400F is a six P-core and four E-core chip with a boost clock of 4.6 GHz. [This is because the GTX 1650 is nearly identical to the Radeon 780M in terms of shaders and other GPU components. It has more shaders, but is a much older design and is clocked much lower than the Radeon 780M. rDNA 3 GPUs should be much better, thanks to their superior shading performance and cache levels.

Like all APUs, the Ryzen 8000G models all use system memory; the GTX 1650 has only 4GB of VRAM and 128GB/s of memory bandwidth, but AMD used 32GB of dual channel DDR5-6400 for testing, so the bandwidth is approximately 100 GB/sec. It might be possible to increase it more with timing adjustments, but Ryzen CPUs are usually incompatible with faster RAM.

This is something to keep in mind if you plan to build a new APU-based PC this year. For the best possible gaming performance, get the fastest, lowest latency DDR5 dual-channel memory kit with at least 16GB.

Despite the limitation of having to use system RAM for the GPU, AMD's Ryzen 8000G series is a notable improvement over the previous 5000G series. Clock speeds are much higher without increasing power consumption, and GPUs are much better thanks to more shaders on board.

PCIe 5.0 is also supported, so with either of the 8000G chips on an AM5 X670E or B650E motherboard, you have a future-proof platform that can accommodate ultra-fast PCIe 5.0 SSDs. whether to go the APU route will probably depend on the price.

AMD has set the SEP/ MSRP at $329 starting with the Ryzen 7 8700G, with the two Ryzen 5 models at $229 for the 8600G and $179 for the 8500G, respectively; the 8300G is exclusively for OEM suppliers, so no prices are shown; the 8700G is available at $229 for the 8600G and $179 for the 8500G.

The 8700G is priced about the same as the Ryzen 7 7700. Both models have the same number of cores and clock speeds, but the latter has more L3 cache. However, its integrated GPU is useless for gaming, while that of the 8700G is clearly not.

Personally, I think AMD got the price almost right: the Ryzen 5000G series is a great APU, and the new 8000G series is a worthy successor, at least on paper. I can't wait to see what this little chip can do in my office.

_____________________________________ PC Gamer's CES 2024 coverage is courtesy of Asus Republic of Gamers.