AMD Ryzen 5 2400G preview: Giving discrete GPUs a run for their money

AMD hasn’t slowed down in a long while. The chipmaker’s new Raven Ridge APUs drop today, and they may be among the best value-for-money chips you can buy. These are the first desktop Ryzen processors to feature Radeon RX Vega graphics embedded on the same chip, so they’re a good choice for entry-level to mid-range systems.

Custom AMD APUs already drive the graphics in consoles like the Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro, so the company clearly has the expertise it needs in this area. However, the consumer versions of AMD’s APUs still fell short of delivering a truly playable experience on PC, but that’s exactly what AMD is hoping to change with Raven Ridge.

The Ryzen 5 2400G (3.6GHz, 4MB L3 cache) and Ryzen 3 2200G (3.5GHz, 4MB L3 cache) are intended to replace the Ryzen 5 1400 (3.2GHz, 8MB L3 cache)  and Ryzen 3 1200 (3.1GHz, 8MB L3 cache) respectively, and the first things you’ll notice on the specs sheet are the higher base and boost clocks.

Here’s an overview of their specifications:

The higher clock speeds are part of AMD’s effort to make the Raven Ridge APUs a more feasible choice for 1080p gaming. PC games are still rather sensitive to clock speeds, so AMD decided to bump up the frequencies on its new APUs, a move which it says helps offset design decisions in other areas.

For example, AMD decided on a 4+0, or single CPU Complex (CCX) configuration, even though that meant accepting a small cache size. This differs from the 2+2 configuration it ran with on its previous quad-core Ryzen processors, which enabled them to have up to 8MB of L3 cache, as opposed to 4MB now. The one CCX approach also allowed AMD to make the die compact enough for both desktop and mobile chips.

This is part of AMD’s effort to make the Raven Ridge APUs a feasible choice for 1080p gaming. PC games are still rather sensitive to clock speeds, so AMD decided to bump up the frequencies on its new APUs, a move which it says helps offset design decisions in other areas.

That said, AMD appears confident that this decision was the correct one, and it says some games can also benefit from the lower latency of a single CCX configuration.

The Zen core complex and Vega graphics are linked together via AMD's Infinity Fabric, which in turn also services clients like the multimedia engines, display engine, DDR4 memory controllers, and the I/O and system hub.

Raven Ridge also adopts an even more power efficient 14nm+ FinFET process. This is a density-optimized version of GlobalFoundries’ 14nm+ FinFET process, and it allows for smaller dies and lower operating voltages across the entire power/performance curve.

But it’s the Vega graphics at the heart of this chip that I’m going to be focusing on today. It is based on the same geometry and pixel engines as the full-fledged Vega GPUs, in addition to next-generation compute units (NCU) with support for Rapid Packed Math.

At S$237 for the Ryzen 5 2400G and S$145 for the Ryzen 3 2200G, the new APUs represent very attractive options for gamers on a tight budget. Oh, and they come bundled with AMD's Wraith Stealth cooler, so that's another expense saved. Like all other Ryzen chips, they’ll also work on the AM4 platform, although most folks exploring this price bracket will probably opt for something like the B350 chipset. 

That said, let’s dive into the performance results for the Ryzen 5 2400G on the next page.

Test Setup

AMD Raven Ridge

• AMD Ryzen 5 2400G (3.6GHz, 4MB L3 cache)
• AMD Wraith Stealth CPU cooler
• Gigabyte AB350N Gaming WIFI
• 2 x 8GB G.Skill Flare X DDR4-3200 at 2,666MHz (Auto timings: CAS 14-14-14-34)
• Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD
• Windows 10 Home (64-bit)

Intel Coffee Lake

•  Intel Core i5-8400 (2.8GHz, 9MB L3 cache)
• Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240
• ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
• 2 x 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3000 at 2,666MHz (Auto timings: CAS 15-15-15-35)
• Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD
• Windows 10 Home (64-bit)

I’ll be comparing the Ryzen 5 2400G’s Vega 11 processor graphics against two other setups, including the same APU with an MSI Radeon RX 550 Aero ITX 2G OC and the Intel Core i5-8400 and its Intel UHD Graphics 630. The latter clocks up to 1,050MHz, compared to the 1,250MHz on Vega 11.

Here’s a list of the benchmarks and games used for testing:

• 3DMark
• Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
• Hitman
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
• Tom Clancy’s The Division

Performance results

3DMark

The Ryzen 5 2400G obviously isn’t intended for anything more demanding than a 1080p resolution, but I’ve run it through the full suite of 3DMark benchmarks anyway to illustrate the performance drop-offs.

Obviously, the on-chip Vega 11 graphics still doesn’t quite replace a discrete GPU, even an entry-level one like the Radeon RX 550GB. But what it does is give it a run for its money, especially when you consider the costs of both. The Radeon RX 550 was 22 per cent quicker in 3DMark Fire Strike, which doesn’t seem too big a lead considering that you’d have to shell out around S$169 for it (depending on the brand) compared to the Ryzen 5 2400G’s S$237.

What’s more, the latter offers the full package, with fairly decent graphics performance right out of the box.

For some perspective on how much of an improvement Raven Ridge offers over AMD’s older APUs such as Godavari, consider that the A10-7870K scored a mere 6503 in Sky Diver and 1761 in Fire Strike. That amounts to a 63 per cent and 69 per cent increase respectively, which is nothing to turn your nose up at.

Furthermore, the Ryzen 5 2400G is clearly far ahead of the Intel UHD Graphics 630 on the Core i5-8400. It was a good 155 per cent faster in Fire Strike, completely outclassing Intel’s integrated graphics offering.

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation

The Ryzen 5 2400G left the Core i5-8400 in the dust here again, where it was a whopping 149 per cent faster at Low settings. It also closed in on the Radeon RX 550, trailing it by just 8 per cent.

Granted, you’re probably going to need a far more powerful setup to run Escalation, but the numbers here are nevertheless illustrative of the performance differentials between the three different setups. That said, it’s worth noting that Escalation is a title limited more by the CPU than the GPU, which is partly why the performance gap between the Vega 11 graphics on the Ryzen 5 chip and the Radeon RX 550 was smaller than usual.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Mankind Divided is a rather demanding title, so it’s quite impressive that the Ryzen 5 2400G managed a sort of playable 25.8fps at Low settings. Yes, this isn’t going to be the smoothest experience, but I consider it quite a feat that the game didn’t devolve into a stuttering mess. On the other hand, the game was completely unplayable on the Core i5-8400.

The Radeon RX 550 was around 20 per cent faster, barely breaking the 30fps mark at Low settings.

Hitman

The Ryzen 5 2400G did even better on Hitman, posting a relatively smooth 41.52fps on Low settings. Unfortunately, the Intel UHD Graphics 630 didn’t fare much better here, and it was 61 per cent slower than the Vega 11 graphics.

However, the Radeon RX 550 was approximately 24 per cent better than Vega 11, driving home the fact that the gap between an entry-level GPU and AMD’s integrated offering isn’t exactly insignificant.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

AMD’s APU did quite well on Shadow of Mordor as well, a relatively old title considering that we’re already in 2018. It was 115 per cent quicker than its Intel counterpart, once again cementing AMD’s lead in integrated graphics among the current generation of CPUs. Still, the Radeon RX 550’s advantage leapt to 45 per cent here, it’s largest yet.

Tom Clancy’s The Division

The Ryzen 5 2400G showed that it can run The Division as well, provided you play at 1080p and the Low preset. The Core i5-8400 once again failed to measure up, coming in at 65 per cent behind the Raven Ridge APU.

The Division was considered an AAA title at release, so it’s really pretty heartening that you can go out today and buy a CPU with integrated graphics that can run it. It won’t blow you away with its performance, but it’ll do a serviceable job most of the time.

Final Thoughts

All things considered, I’m pretty encouraged by the graphics performance of the Ryzen 5 2400G. It’s nothing mind-blowing, but it is still miles ahead of anything Intel offers at this point, and compares favorably against a discrete GPU like the Radeon RX 550 2GB.

But even though it’s an entry-level card, the Radeon RX 550 2GB’s lead is not insignificant, so I can’t quite say that the Ryzen 5 2400G is a replacement for discrete graphics. Still, it comes close enough, and for someone on a really tight budget, AMD’s Ryzen 5 APU will do the job, at least until you can save up for a discrete card.

What’s more, the games I used to test the Ryzen 5 2400G are far more demanding than e-sports titles like Dota 2, Overwatch, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. If the 2400G can deliver a more or less playable experience on some of the tested games here, performance on these less demanding e-sports titles should be much better and good enough for casual players.

That in itself gives me reason to be excited for what future generations of similar CPUs will bring. The Ryzen 5 2400G is a shining example of what integrated graphics can do, and it can only get better from here on out. Hopefully, we’ll reach a point where some of the safety rails – 1080p and no eye candy in the settings – can be removed.

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