AMD first announced the Ryzen 7 8700G as part of its 8000G series APUs for AM5 desktop socket at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2024 in January. As with its prior G series desktop APUs, the 8000 series is aimed at gamers on a budget. The highlights of this new APU lineup included Zen 4 architecture, up to 8 cores, and RDNA 3-based Radeon 780M integrated graphics. While the company also claims to have added an NPU to the APU to handle AI tasks, there aren’t many useful examples to highlight for gamers beyond noise cancellation.
According to the announcement, the 8700G comes with Radeon 780M graphics, “the fastest” integrated GPU “in its class”. The claims continue to add that the 8000G series can offer “a smooth AAA 1080p” experience while gaming for anyone looking to buy an AM5 motherboard. AMD also highlighted that the 8000G series is ideal for gamers wanting an option to buy a dedicated GPU later.
While the company has just announced its latest Zen 5 architecture, it has not announced any Zen 5-based desktop APUs. Just like 8000G APUs, we may get something towards the end of the year or at CES 2025. In the meantime, is 8700G the best APU available for budget gamers? Can you get a good experience while gaming on the APU? Is it the right choice for someone looking to get a dedicated GPU later, and is it worth your money? Check out our AMD Ryzen 8700G review if you want answers to all these questions and more.
Also Read: Computex 2024: AMD Announces Zen 5-Based Ryzen 9000 Series CPUs for Desktop, New Ryzen 5000XT Series CPUs, and X870 Series Chipset
Ryzen 8700G and test bench specifications
Let’s check the specifications of the AMD Ryzen 8700G before we talk about its gaming performance:
AMD Ryzen 7 8700G
Codename
Phoenix
Architecture
Zen 4
Instruction Set
x86 and x64
CPU Socket
AM5
# of CPU Cores
8
Multithreading (SMT)
Yes
# of Threads
16
Max. Boost Clock
Up to 5.1GHz
Base Clock
4.2GHz
Integrated Graphics
Radeon 780M (12 RDNA 3 CUs)
Supported Chipsets
A620, B650, B650E, X670, X670E
Cache
512KB (L1), 8MB (L2), 16MB (L3)
Default TDP
65W
PCI Express Generation
PCIe Gen 4.0
Now, here is all the hardware we used as part of our test bench for this review:
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 8700G
GPU
–
Motherboard
Asus ROG Strix B650-A Gaming Wi-Fi
RAM
2x 16GB G-Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5 6400MT/s Kit
Storage
Kingston FURY Renegade PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD, 500GB
CPU Cooler
AMD Wraith Spire Cooler (Included with the APU)
PSU
MSI MAG A650BN 650W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply
Case
MSI MAG Forge 320R Airflow
Editor’s Note: AMD India provided IGN India access to the Ryzen 7 8700G and all the other parts for this review for a limited time.
Performance and benchmarks
Gaming performance
Given that we are testing an APU, we expanded our testing process to evaluate the gaming performance of the Ryzen 7 8700G. In addition to testing the games at maximum graphics quality at 1080p resolution, we also recorded the performance at medium graphics quality. Overall, we ran 11 AAA games for the performance testing, including Cyberpunk 2077, Forza Horizon 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, Control and GTA 5. Beyond these, the list also included Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Horizon Zero Dawn, Borderlands 3, Gears of War 5, and A Total War Saga: TROY.
We also tried to run Hitman World of Assassination (previously known as Hitman 3). However, it did not offer the option to run the game at the highest graphics quality. As with other reviews, we turned off VSync and motion blur in graphics settings. For the AMD Software settings, we used the “Default” preset for the “Global Gaming Experience” graphics settings. This means we did not use any of the Radeon software features, including Super Resolution, Fluid Motion Frames, Anti-Lag, Boost, Chill, Image Sharpening, Enhanced Sync or Frame Rate targeting.
Looking at the gaming performance of the Radeon 780M integrated GPU on the Ryzen 7 8700G, it is evident that the processor is no slouch. This is especially true considering we have not used any upscaling or frame generation technologies. We almost get a playable experience hovering around 30 fps at maximum graphics settings. The only titles that did not cross the 30 fps threshold were heavy AAA games like Cyberpunk 2077, Forza Horizon 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, Borderlands 3, and Horizon Zero Dawn (29 fps).
Enabling EXPO in the BIOS is one of the most important steps to get better performance from your APU.
Things change for the better when we push the graphics quality to medium, as all games except Cyberpunk 2077 cross the 40 fps mark. In fact, games like GTA 5, Forza Horizon 5, A Total War Saga: Troy, and Gears of War 5 (59 fps) cross the 60 fps mark. As most games are not as demanding, you can expect anywhere from 35 to 45 fps at maximum graphics settings to 60–80 fps at medium graphics settings. The gaming experience will only improve if we use upscaling, as we discuss in the next section.
AMD Radeon technologies and their impact
We also tested AMD FSR upscaling technology and its different quality presets to see how they would impact performance in Cyberpunk 2077. Before we discuss the performance impact of FSR, here is the performance chart with FSR 2.0 disabled and enabled, along with all the presets.
Cyberpunk 2077
Medium Graphics Quality
Low Graphics Quality
Without Upscaling
28.36 fps
35.71 fps
FSR 2.0 Presets
Quality
37.23 fps
44.35 fps
Balanced
40.49 fps
48.69 fps
Performance
48.60 fps
53.84 fps
Ultra Performance
58.33 fps
65.57 fps
We used Cyberpunk 2077 for this section, as it is one of the most graphically intensive AAA games with mass appeal. Regarding the graphics presets used for testing, we believe these are the more reasonable settings for an APU gamer. Trying to play the game at maximum graphics quality is only suitable with a dedicated GPU.
Medium Quality Graphics with FSR 2.0 Quality Preset.
While FSR 2.0 manages to triple the fps with the Ultra Performance preset and double it with the Balanced preset, it comes at the cost of a meaningful hit to the visual quality. The situation gets increasingly challenging as we push the graphics quality too low. At the same time, pushing 28.36 fps (medium quality) and 35.71 fps (low quality) to 37.23 fps and 44.35 fps, respectively, with the help of the Quality preset is quite impressive. The overall experience is bound to get marginally better as and when CD Projekt Red rolls out the official support for FSR 3.0.
Benchmarks
Editor’s Note: We will keep updating this graph to add performance from more processors available in the market to give a better sense of comparison.
Synthetic benchmarks offer a comparative analysis of the performance of the 8700G APU. As per the chart above, the 8700G is quite close to the 7800X3D, both in single-core and multi-core performance, as both feature 8 Zen 4 cores. However, the competing Intel Core i7 14700F pulls ahead because of more threads (20 cores and 28 threads) and higher boost clock speeds (up to 5.4 GHz). The rest of the CPUs that we have previously tested target a higher performance class with more cores and threads along with higher max clock speeds.
Thermals and power performance
In line with other Zen 4-based processors, 8700G pushes to the edge of its maximum operating temperature (95 degrees Celsius) for maximum performance. Depending on the system’s cooling capacity, it pulls back as soon as it thermal throttles.
During our testing, it would hit a peak of around 96.2 degrees Celsius on the die under stress and then pull it back to around 85 to 90 degrees Celsius. We noticed that it would hover around 75 degrees Celsius during our extended gaming sessions.
Talking about power, the CPU package would draw a maximum of 87.8 W under load but average around 32–45W while gaming. The actual power would depend on the type of game.
Value for money and competition
Depending on the online store of your choice, the 8700G is priced anywhere from ₹28,000 to ₹33,000. If you had asked me about the value for money for the Ryzen 7 8700G a week earlier, my answer would have been somewhat complicated. However, the recent announcements at Computex 2024, especially regarding the extended support for the AM5 desktop socket till 2027, have changed things. This guaranteed support for three years and the excellent track record of support with the older AM4 socket make it easier to recommend the 8700G.
Ryzen 8700G!
The primary reason for the easy recommendation is that you can easily buy a newer CPU without purchasing a new motherboard. For context, AM4 buyers who purchased Zen 1-based Ryzen 1000 series CPUs can easily upgrade after buying Zen 3-based Ryzen 5000 CPUs. Similarly, if you get Ryzen 7 8700G with a AM5 motherboard, it is more than likely that you will get the chance to upgrade to the next-generation Zen architecture.
Even if I keep the conversation around future upgrade paths aside, the 8700G is a good APU for anyone looking to build their first gaming PC on a budget. This is not to say that you won’t find more capable CPUs at a somewhat cheaper price, like the 7800X3D. But, to buy them, you must buy a GPU along with the CPU. On the other hand, the 8700G will enable you to experience AAA games at decent quality until you save up for the rather expensive GPU. The upgrade path just makes the case stronger for the APU.
The only con is that you won’t be able to use the next-generation PCIe Gen 5.0-based GPUs (or existing SSDs) with this APU, as it only supports PCIe Gen 4.0.
Continue Reading: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D – Review
The AMD Ryzen 7 8700G is a good option for anyone building their first gaming PC on a tight budget. Radeon 780M, the processor’s integrated GPU, ensures you can experience AAA games at decent graphics quality. In fact, if you know that you won’t be playing Cyberpunk 2077 and instead would be busy completing your library of older games, the APU can easily offer anywhere from 50 to 80 fps on medium quality. The recent announcements around guaranteed support for AM5 till 2027 with a good upgrade path just make the choice of 8700G even more obvious.
