Powerful desktop APUs, but still expensive

On January 8, 2024 at CES, AMD introduced its new accelerated processing units (APU) called Hawk Point for desktop. The name “Ryzen 8000” can be a bit misleading, as it is not the successor to the Raphael, Zen 4 (Ryzen 7000), nor does it mean the official successor to Eldora, Zen 5 (possibly the Ryzen 9000). The new Ryzen 8000 processors are based on the Zen 4 architecture, but come from the mobile Phoenix design, which debuted as Ryzen 7X40U/HS models, and unlike the Zen 4 generation desktop processors, a more powerful integrated graphics unit and AI acceleration. In order to make room for the RDNA 3 graphics, the Ryzen 8000 APUs are limited in terms of L3 cache: instead of 32MB, the Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G use only 16MB. They follow the same path as their predecessors, such as the Ryzen 5 2400/3400G (Zen) or Ryzen 7 5700G (Zen 3), which in turn are scaled-down desktop processors with less L3 cache when it comes to the CPU part.

PCGH has created two different testbeds based on the Ryzen 8000G processor architecture. You are now reading the part that deals exclusively with the Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G processor cores. We measured performance in games and apps and the efficiency of Zen 4 cores and provide a familiar overview of benchmarks and performance indicators. If you are interested in the performance of the RDNA 3 integrated graphics unit, you will find the link directly below these lines.

Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G: RDNA-3-IGP in detail with benchmarks – is it enough for Full HD resolution?

We would like to thank AMD Germany for providing samples of the Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G, the MSI B650 Gaming Plus motherboard, the appropriate memory for tuning, and the OC comparators from G.Skill (32 GiB DDR5-6400). For the purposes of systematic comparison between individual processors, especially in terms of efficiency, we used the MSI X670E Ace reference motherboard in the test. On the other hand, the performance of the integrated graphics unit is specified on the motherboard provided by AMD. As a bonus, we also provide OC benchmarks in the RDNA 3 graphics article.

AMD Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G: technical specifications

Ryzen 7 8700 GB It comes with eight Zen 4 cores that provide up to 16 threads via SMT. The boost clock is up to 5.1GHz, while the base clock still promises a fairly high frequency of 4.2GHz. On the memory side, DDR5-5200 is supported with up to two DIMMs and DDR5-3600 in full configuration. Unlike the Zen 4 in Ryzen 7000 form, the Ryzen 8000G is said to support up to 256GB of RAM. The Ryzen 7000 is now expanded to 192GB, while AMD's homepage talks about a maximum of 128GB. Whether this is true or not is something that needs to be clarified by contacting AMD, and we will of course keep you updated.

The Ryzen 7 8700G offers full RDNA 3 (780M) GPU expansion, with 12 core graphics units (CUs) and a 2.9GHz clock speed. For comparison: The RDNA-2-IGP of Zen 4 and Ryzen 7000 is based on two CUs with a clock speed of 2.2 GHz. Ryzen 5 8600 GB It's based on six cores and twelve threads, clocks up to 5.0 GHz and only differs from the 8700G in the graphics department: the IGP, dubbed the 760M, offers “only” eight CUs and thus about 33 percent less raw performance. Furthermore, the GPU clock speed is 100MHz lower at 2.8GHz.

Source: AMD


Only the 8700G and 8600G have fast CPU cores and the “good” part of the RDNA 3 GPU. The 8500G is already very limited, and the 8300G is only interesting for desktops.

Both APUs are equipped with an NPU to accelerate AI. This is the first time AMD has made this possible on a desktop. Furthermore, AMD states that the Phoenix supports 16 x PCI-Express 4.0 lanes, but in reality there are only eight lanes. This effectively means you have to make do with eight PCI-E 4.0 lanes, which can lead to major performance issues, especially with graphics cards that are limited in terms of lane connectivity. The TDP for both processors is 65 watts, including the graphics unit. Both can also be based on an open multiplier and support PBO – so there are no limits to your tuning ambitions. On the contrary: thanks to the monolithic architecture, AMD promises better OC characteristics of the memory controller. But the tuning article should make that clear.

AMD isn't just saving the L3 cache: we noticed a substance underneath the HS, which, upon close-up, turns out to be simple thermal paste. On the other hand, the Ryzen 7000 is soldered and thus provides better heat transfer from the CPU cores to the heat spreader.

Unfortunately, we don't have a sample of the Ryzen 5 8500G yet, so we can't verify its specs. This APU is based on so-called Zen 4c cores, which are full Zen 4 cores, but have a significantly lower clock frequency. We would like to provide a comparison with other APUs. We're already trying to get a sample. Feel free to leave comments if you'd like a full review of the Ryzen 5 8500G.

On the next page we will finally take a look at the performance of the Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G, regarding only the processor part in games and applications including performance indicators. We would like to remind you that you can see the graphics performance of RDNA 3 in the article linked at the beginning.