Comparing the Ryzen 5700G and 5800X upgrades under power limits
Comparing the Ryzen 5700G and 5800X upgrades under power limits
Hi, my current setup uses a Ryzen 2700 (Zen+) CPU on a Gigabyte B450M DS3H board. It’s generally handling its tasks well enough for my needs—mostly focused on productivity work and gaming at 60Hz monitors with non-competitive settings. In the coming weeks, I plan to make some upgrades that could affect performance: a higher refresh rate monitor and a VR headset. This means the Ryzen 2700 might not be as strong in the long run. I’m considering switching to the Ryzen 5700G or 5800X at a slight discount, both offering similar pricing and 8 Zen 3 cores. While the 5800X is generally faster, I see two useful reasons for keeping the integrated graphics: (1) I occasionally run Linux and would like to use the iGPU for AMD drivers (though it’s not essential right now; my current GPU works but can be a bit sluggish with heavy CUDA tasks), and (2) I plan to repurpose this setup later as a server or media center once I upgrade. This alone isn’t enough to make the 5700G better than the 5800X in a power-limited build, especially since the power delivery on my B450M DS3H is limited—CPU maxes around 75.6W according to CPUID, and my PSU doesn’t offer much headroom. I’m uncertain whether the performance gap would matter much. Some of the 5800X’s benefits come from a larger L3 cache, but it also has a higher TDP (105W vs 65W) and peak power draw (up to 141W vs 88W). I wonder if the difference comes more from architecture features than just power limits. If you have any thoughts or data, I’d appreciate it!
With sufficient RAM you'd likely appreciate the IGPU more than the modest boost speeds and doubled L3 cache of the 5800x. Check out this review for more insights. For instance, during Chromium compilation the 5800x performs about 12% better than the 5700g under stock loads, but at similar power settings they'd be even closer. In general you probably wouldn't notice a big speed gap between them, though the APU certainly adds worth. Also verify your motherboard supports the 5700g—some don't accommodate APUs.
Funny enough it's more expensive than the 5800X right now (locally), and I didn't even know that it existed until now. (Because it's only available boxed and the 5800X is available in tray) Is there any advantage to it? EDIT: it looks almost like it's just a 65W version of the 5800X so I guess I can compare it to the 5700G to see how much the cache difference makes. Thanks
You have 3000 MT/s RAM with a CL16 motherboard. That should be sufficient for most tasks. A BIOS update is available if needed, and support exists.
3000 cl16 offers solid speed, but expect under 3% improvement. A 3600 cl18 binned RAM paired with 5-7% would likely bring you around 3800 MHz on a decent processor like DJR or Rev E tightened subtimings. Beyond that, performance jumps sharply—possibly reaching 5000+ if you use the right components. Some titles don’t mind RAM speed much while others do, so it depends on your games. I’d recommend 5800x for maximum gain, though. You can get affordable adapters like the 6350 or 7470 for under $10. With a larger cache, you won’t need to push RAM speeds too high (around 3900-4200) unless your clock speed is limited. Tightened subtimings will give most of the benefits without the headaches of high-frequency RAM. Even if you skip RAM optimization, having more cache still helps, especially on older chips. For those focused on APUs, stock RAM works just fine. If you want extra edge in certain titles, invest in a decent overclock but keep it realistic.