I’ve always been a big believer in AMD’s integrated graphical solutions (APUs). My first ever PC featured an A10-7950k. That thing boasted the integrated Radeon R7 capabilities alongside quad core performance clocked at 3.7 GHz. Even for the time, that thing was not very reliable at all.
Despite this, I still managed to run games like ARMA II (the DayZ mod, obviously) at a whopping 20-30 FPS at the lowest possible settings and resolution, and I had a hell of a time doing it. The performance was so low-like that upgrading to a PC with a dedicated 960 GPU and an FX-8350 actually felt like heaven (or hell, considering how hot that thing ran).
The point being that these experiences were enough to support the needs of a young gamer who didn’t know any better. But these days, young gamers do know better. And they are more likely to spot stutters and low frame-rates than the generation that came before them. And that is why I think AMD is going to (eventually) knock it out of the park with their new 8000 series APUs.
For those whom’st’d’ve don’t know, an APU is simply a CPU that has an integrated graphical processing unit included in it. The image you’re looking at to the left of this text is a CPU: A little square that you stick in the motherboard with its associated cooling solutions and forget about for the next 500 years or so.
A GPU is a graphical processing unit. When you look at an image on your screen when scrolling through articles, watching videos, or playing games, you’re looking at an output produced by the GPU. A dedicated GPU, which is a GPU that is NOT directly built into a CPU, is going to outperform any APU’s graphical processing abilities almost every time unless the GPU itself is extremely outdated.
So, an APU is a CPU with the GPU built right into it (lol). And AMD’s 8000G series APUs are looking brilliant for the entry-level gamer who needs a budget build ASAP (with some caveats). For reference, the RDNA 3 based graphical solutions included in the 8000G series, which are built off AMD’s Phoenix architecture and refitted to work with the AM5 socket, roughly competes the dedicated GPU performance a GTX 1650.
This means that instead of dropping cash on a dedicated GPU and CPU like the aforementioned 1650, which currently sits at around $160, and 5600 will run you about $150), you can just spend your cash on a 300-ish dollar CPU that is built on better architecture, is a fair bit faster, and get the GPU included.
There’s that one caveat I mentioned earlier, though, and it has to be said: the fact that the 8000 series APUs are built on the AM5 socket is going to drive up costs quite a bit, and the overall vibe of the market is going to dictate whether or not it’s better to run with an 8000 series APU or just stick with a Ryzen 5000 CPU alongside a dedicated GPU.
To expand on that; the AM5 socket dictates that you also purchase DDR5 RAM and, obviously, a compatible motherboard. These two things, alone, are almost certainly going to drive up the prices of your build to the point where it just isn’t worth running with it unless you plan on using the AM5 platform as an upgrade point in the future.
I realize that information directly contradicts the point of this article, but remember: we’re looking to the future here. In a year’s time, when the current ring of AMD APUs and compatible motherboards are being offered at a discount, you’ll be able to purchase a DDR5 compatible build with great budget performance for (probably) under 500 dollars total.
That sort of APU performance, for the entry level gamer, is going to support an experience that is infinitely smoother and more consistent than what my A10-7950k was able to give me way back when.
GLHF
-E
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