Conclusion
In this performance comparison article today we put AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series APUs on the desktop head-to-head against each other to see the differences in performance in several benchmarks and games.
If you want to check out our full reviews on these APUs please read our AMD Ryzen 7 5700G APU Performance Review and our AMD Ryzen 5 5600G APU Performance Review. In those reviews, we compared each APU to the competing CPUs around it to find out how close they come. In the Ryzen 7 5700G Review we compared it against the Ryzen 7 5800X and Ryzen 7 3700X. In the Ryzen 5 5600G Review we compared it against the Ryzen 5 5600X and Ryzen 5 3600X. We also tested the performance of the onboard Vega 8 Graphics in the Ryzen 7 5700G in a separate review.
The Ryzen 7 5700G and Ryzen 5 5600G are based on AMD’s Zen 3 Cezanne APUs. The Ryzen 7 5700G has 8 cores/16 threads at 4.6GHz and 16MB of L3 Cache with a TDP of 65W with an MSRP of $359. The Ryzen 5 5600G has 6 cores/12 threads at 4.4GHz and 16MB of L3 Cache with a TDP of 65W with an MSRP of $259.
Synthetic and Rendering Performance
Starting off in PCMark 10 the Ryzen 7 5700G was overall just 6% faster than the Ryzen 5 5600G in overall system performance. This wasn’t too far apart for general tasks on the desktop. In the applications test which tests Microsoft Office performance, the 5700G was just 4% faster. The extra cores/threads here weren’t making a big difference, only the clock speed was a slight advantage.
When we tested specifically max thread performance in 3DMark the 5700G was 18% faster, showing that when the cores/threads are used it can be that much faster. However, in the single-thread test, they were very close in performance, within 5% of each other. The only difference is the clock speed. Geekbench backed up the 3DMark data with the multi-core test showing the 5700G to be 13% faster but the single-core test only being 4% faster on the 5700G. Taking all things into consideration, PassMark showed the 5700G to be 20% faster than the 5600G when taking everything into consideration.
SiSoftware Sandra 2021 showed us that in arithmetic integer workloads in multi-threading the 5700G could be as much as 42% faster thanks to the extra cores and threads. Even in single-core, it was 47% faster. We did not need to test AIDA64 memory performance as both CPUs are able to pull in around 53GB/s of memory read and memory write performance, there is no difference in memory performance between them.
When it comes to rendering, Cinebench R23 showed the 5700G was 24% faster using all the cores. In single-core testing, though they were only 4% apart. In V-Ray, the 5700G was 29% faster. In HandBrake we showed that the 5700G can be faster than the 5600G for encoding video, the extra cores/threads help here and it’s 15% faster, which adds up.
Gaming Performance
In gaming performance, we tested at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K in several games using a dedicated GPU. In Cyberpunk 2077 the two CPUs were neck-and-neck, at 1080p, 1440p or 4K it doesn’t matter which CPU you use, performance is the same in the game. In Battlefield 2042 there was a slight variance at 1080p, but it was small at 4%. Otherwise, at 1440p or 4K, you will be GPU bound. In Forza Horizon 5 the 5700G was only faster by 3% at 1080p, which once again is very small. At 1440p and 4K, they are practically the same. In MS Flight Sim both CPUs are bottlenecked at 1080p, but at 1440p and 4K performance is again very close with no clear leaders.
In Far Cry 6 the Ryzen 7 5700G was just 4% faster at 1080p but similar at 1440p and 4K. Watch Dogs Legion was the only game here where there was a big difference at 1080p. At 1080p the Ryzen 7 5700G was 10% faster than the Ryzen 5 5600G, which could be noticeable in the minimum lows. There was a smaller 6% difference at 1440p, and then at 4K you are GPU bound. Even in Crysis Remastered, there was but a small 3% difference at 1080p.
Overall, it seems that with a very fast, and we mean very fast GPU like an RTX 3080 Ti or RTX 3090 you might see some differences in gaming performance at 1080p. However, those differences are going to be very minor, less than 5%, with the 5700G taking the lead, except in the case of Watch Dogs Legion which was higher. Once you get to 1440p and 4K though you are GPU bound even on this high-end GPU with these two APUs. Therefore, only if you play at low resolutions would the 5700G even show any kind of difference, and then it is not very significant. Overall, the two APUs provide the same gameplay experience with a dedicated GPU. You’d get a greater benefit overclocking either of them for gaming.
Final Points
We have now greatly explored the CPU side of performance on the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G and AMD Ryzen 7 5600G APUs. These are powerful, efficient, value-oriented APUs for the desktop PC. They both offer a lot of CPU performance for desktop applications whether you are doing office work, or more involved work such as video editing, streaming, and gaming. Each one can fill a certain role.
If you need the extra cores/threads for rendering, encoding, transcoding, and video editing the Ryzen 7 5700G will be your best bet. However, if you are gaming, or doing regular office type of work, the Ryzen 5 5600G is going to be an incredible value. You don’t need to spend the extra money for the 5700G in these scenarios.
The 5700G will not provide a better gaming experience with a dedicated GPU. You’ll get the same gaming performance between the 5600G and 5700G with a dedicated video card. The extra cores don’t really provide that boost for gameplay performance. You’d get a larger benefit just by overclocking the frequency of the 5600G for gaming.
The Ryzen 5 5600G, therefore, offers a great value because it uses less power, needs a less robust cooling system, and you can build a pretty small desktop computer around it and still have top-notch gaming performance with a dedicated video card.
Therefore, based on all the reviewing we have done on these two APUs, we really have to give the Ryzen 5 5600G a hand as the best all-arounder APU out there. It’s got great CPU performance and a good integrated graphics solution that is faster than Intel’s integrated graphics. So kudos to the Ryzen 5 5600G. With prices around $200-220, you might want to give this APU a look for your desktop build.