Processors with built-in graphics have been something in the past that most desktop PC users really did not take seriously. When it came to graphics performance you really could not play much and the overall experience was not that good at all. AMD has been at the forefront of these type of products with their line of APUs (Accelerated Processing Unit). Today we will be taking a look at their Ryzen 5 3400G APU, which is a 4-core, 8-thread part that features Radeon RX Vega 11 built-in graphics. The processor is clocked at 3.7 GHz and has a max boost clock of 4.2 GHz, while the Vega 11 graphics are clocked at 1400 MHz. This is the first time we’ve had a chance to take a look at an APU from AMD so we cannot speak on their previous APUs, but will the Ryzen 5 3400G be able to change our mind about processors with built-in graphics? Read on to find out!
Special thanks to AMD for providing us with the Ryzen 5 3400G APU to review.
Specifications & More
Packaging
AMD has slightly redesigned their packaging for their new APUs. The boxes look much like AMD’s 3rd generation Ryzen packaging, but they do say “Processor with Radeon Graphics” at the top. Also something to note is that the packaging does say “2nd gen processor with Radeon Graphics”, which will discuss here in a bit.
Getting everything out of the box we have the Ryzen 5 3400G APU, the AMD Wraith Spire CPU cooler, two small case stickers, and an installation guide.
So as we mentioned the Ryzen 5 3400G is not a 3rd generation processor based on the new Zen 2 architecture, but rather based on the Zen+ architecture. So this is not a 7nm product, but rather a 12nm product. You are getting an upgrade over the previous generation of APUs as they were based on the Zen architecture, plus the clock speeds for both the CPU and GPU have been increased as well.
