AMD Ryzen 5 5600G APU Performance Review

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Conclusion

We recently purchased a full retail-boxed Ryzen 5 5600G APU processor to review because we saw the potential for such a great value on the desktop PC. The MSRP for this APU was already appealing at $259 when it was launched in retail, but today prices have even dropped further, making it around $200-$220. This is an exciting price point for a powerful CPU based on AMD’s latest Zen 3 architecture, with 6 cores/12 threads plus the bonus of a fully functional AMD Ryzen Radeon RX Vega 7 integrated graphics onboard. We wanted to find out just how close it is to the Ryzen 5 5600X’s performance and how much faster it is from the Ryzen 5 3600X.

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is an APU, meaning it is a CPU with built-in AMD Radeon Graphics inside. The APU is codenamed Cezanne and is based on AMD’s latest Zen 3 architecture. It has 6 cores/12 threads and is clocked at a max boost frequency of 4.4GHz. It has half the L3 cache of the Ryzen 5 5600X with 16MB versus 32MB on the 5600X. It is also a 65W TDP CPU same as the 5600X. It also has built-in AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 graphics so you do not need a discrete GPU. The MSRP is $259, but prices are lower now.

Synthetic and Rendering Performance

We started out in PCMark 10’s standard benchmark with overall system performance where the Ryzen 5 5600G sat right in the middle of performance between the 5600X and 3600X. The 5600G was within 7% of the performance of the 5600X. Next, in PCMark’s application benchmark testing Microsoft Office performance the Ryzen 5 5600G was closer to the performance of the 3600X, surpassing it slightly, and within 6% of the performance of the 5600X.

Next up we tested multi-threading and single-threading performance with 3DMark CPU Profile and Geekbench 5. In 3DMark’s Max Threads test we found the Ryzen 5 5600G to perform very strongly, equalling, if not surpassing slightly, the 5600X on performance. Compared to the 3600X the 5600G was a large 17% faster, showing how much that new architecture helps.

In the single-thread test the 5600G was just under the 5600X, but very close, the 5600X winning here due to the clock speed. The 5600G was 19% faster than the 3600X which is pretty large. In Geekbench 5 we also found that multi-core performance was strong on the 5600G right under 5600X performance. It beat the 3600X by 8%. In the single-core testing, it was much the same, performance was close to the 5600X and 15% faster than the 3600X.

This pattern of great multi-threading/multi-core performance on the 5600G continued in SiSoftware Sandra 2021. In arithmetic testing, the 5600G was again just above the 5600X and beat the 3600X by 13%. In floating-point testing the 5600G was also above the 5600X and 27% faster than the 3600X. In single-thread testing, the 5600X was faster due to the clock speed but the 5600G was right on its heels.

When it comes to rendering performance we found the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G to perform on par with the Ryzen 5 5600X in Cinebench. In fact, it was 3% faster. Compared to the 3600X it was 16% faster. In single-core performance, the 5600X was faster, but the 5600G was within 6% of its performance. It was 10% faster than the 3600X. There were real-world gains and improvements in Blender with the Ryzen 5 5600G versus the Ryzen 5 3600X. The Ryzen 5 5600G was 8% faster and saved time. The 5600X was faster still, but the 5600G was close to it. In V-Ray, the 5600G was closer to 5600X performance. Finally, in HandBrake the Ryzen 5 5600G was 10% faster than the 3600X saving time transcoding video. The time was close to the 5600X result.

Gaming Performance

In gaming performance, we used a dedicated GPU, a fast GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. We found there to be differences in all games at 1080p, and several games at 1440p as well. When it came to 4K, we were GPU bound and it did not make a difference. But, at 1440p there were definitely differences to be had. In Cyberpunk 2077 the Ryzen 5 5600G was 5% faster than the 3600X, but under the 5600X’s performance, which was faster at 1080p and 1440p. Battlefield 2042 showed a much larger difference between the CPUs. The 5600X gained the most differences, but the 5600G was notably better than the 3600X at 1080p.

In Forza Horizon 5 there were differences at 1080p with the 5600X being the fastest and the 5600G being only slightly faster than the 3600X. In Microsoft Flight Sim 2020 we saw some pretty big differences that favored the newer Zen 3 architecture and cache differences. The Ryzen 5 5600X took the cake on performance, but the 5600G stepped up the performance compared to the 3600X quite a bit.

Far Cry 6 was another game where there were some pretty big differences and the 5600X walked away with the win. The Ryzen 5 5600G was just slightly faster than the 3600X. In Watch Dogs Legion the Ryzen 5 5600G was again just slightly above the 3600X and the 5600X took a large win. Finally, in Crysis Remastered the Ryzen 5 5600X has a big win but the Ryzen 5 5600G did step up well above the 3600X.

Overall, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G sits right in between the Ryzen 5 3600X and Ryzen 5 5600X when it comes to gaming performance at 1080p and 1440p. The Ryzen 5 5600X does seem to have a larger advantage in performance, probably due to its L3 cache size. However, the Ryzen 5 5600G was at all times faster than the Ryzen 5 3600X at 1080p and 1440p, proving that even with half the L3 cache, the newer architecture does help in gaming performance there. It’s certainly no slouch, and you’ll have a better than 3600X gaming experience that is closer to the 5600X. At 4K though, you will most likely be GPU bound and it won’t matter, to be honest.

Power and Temp Summary

One of the great things about the Ryzen 5 5600G is its power profile and default TDP. It has a TDP of 65W which is the same as the Ryzen 5 5600X. This is a large improvement over the Ryzen 5 3600X at 95W TDP. Our results show that the 5600X and 5600G are the same in power utilization. With a TDP level such as it is, and a temperature that is lower on the 5600G and 5600X a less expensive heatsink and fan is needed.

You can get away with a less fancy or expensive heatsink fan or AIO to cool the CPUs. A 120mm AIO would be fine, and air-cooling with a quiet heatsink fan is possible. This reduces the overall cost to build a system around the Ryzen 5 5600G and Ryzen 5 5600X. The Ryzen 5 5600G comes with a heatsink fan, so in theory, you can save cost a lot more with the 5600G and you don’t even have to purchase a third party cooler then. It’s all included in the retail box.

Final Points

Overall we are highly impressed with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G APU. It delivers top-tier 6 core/12 thread CPU performance that can keep up with the Ryzen 5 5600X in a lot of scenarios. It is able to keep up with multi-core/multi-threading performance due to a more consistent all-core frequency over time, plus latency differences and increased memory write performance.

In those instances where the L3 cache plays a big part in your workload performance, the Ryzen 5 5600G sits just under the 5600X on performance, within 10% or less of it, which is very close. In terms of single-core/single-thread performance, the Ryzen 5 5600X will always have the advantage due to clock speed and cache capacity, but again the 5600G is right on its heels at all times, performing very close to it.

Compared to the AMD Ryzen 5 3600X the newer architecture of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is able to outperform the 3600X by some very wide margins. We saw easily 10-20% performance improvements and IPC improvements versus the 3600X. Even though it has less L3 cache, the newer Zen 3 architecture is just simply superior. It can even make a difference in gaming performance.

The other reason why the Ryzen 5 5600G rocks is that it is very efficient. It has a great performance per Watt profile and produces a lot of performance in its thermal power envelope. The requirements to run the CPU/APU aren’t that steep and you don’t need exotic computer component choices that are very expensive to build a solid system around this APU.

It comes with its own wraith stealth cooler heatsink fan so you can get going straight out of the box and save cost. Plus, it’s an APU, it has integrated graphics by way of AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 Radeon Graphics built-in onboard. This means you don’t even have to purchase a dedicated GPU to get started with your build, that’s another huge cost-saving component. If you aren’t gaming, then this is the perfect value solution because you won’t have to buy a video card at all.

When this APU was launched at $259 it was a good deal, but now that prices have dropped to $200-$220 it really has never been better for this APU and what it offers. The price is not only appealing but really a steal for what it provides in terms of value.

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AMD Ryzen 5 5600G

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Brent Justicehttps://www.thefpsreview.com
Former managing editor of GPUs at HardOCP for 18 years, Brent Justice has been reviewing computer components since the late 90s, educated in the art and method of the computer hardware review, he brings experience, knowledge, and hands-on testing with a gamer-oriented and hardware enthusiast perspective. You can follow him on Twitter - @Brent_Justice You can sub to his YouTube channel - Justice Gaming https://www.youtube.com/c/JusticeGamingChannel You can check out his computer builds on KIT - @BrentJustice https://kit.co/BrentJustice

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