Ryzen 5 3400G Review: CPU + Vega Graphics

As office of the big Zen ii Ryzen processor launch, AMD released two Ryzen 3000 parts that include a graphics component. The new Ryzen 3 3200G and Ryzen 5 3400G APUs are straightforward upgrades compared to the models they replace, starting at $99 and $149 respectively.

AMD is using the Zen+ compages, significant these APUs are manufactured using the 12nm process, which offers improved clock speeds and thermals. The R5 3400G gets a cooler upgrade out of the box with the Wraith Spire, while the 3200G keeps the base of operations Wraith Stealth. The 3400G also does away with the thermal paste interface textile and it's soldered but like the big male child chips.

The 3400G CPU cores take been overclocked by eight% from 3.ix GHz to 4.2 GHz, while the Vega 11 graphics engine comes clocked at 1.4 GHz, a 12% boost from the 2400G. The cost sticker has also received a slight disbelieve with the R5 3400G starting at $149, or $20 lower than the 2400G at launch.

	Ryzen 3 2200G	Ryzen five 2400G	Ryzen three 3200G	Ryzen 5 3400G
Launch Toll	$99	$169	$99	$149
Cores/Threads	4/4	4/8	4/4	four/8
Base Clock	3.5 GHz	3.6 GHz	three.half-dozen GHz	iii.7 GHz
Boost Clock	3.7 GHz	3.nine GHz	4.0 GHz	4.2 GHz
Cache	4MB	4MB	6MB	6MB
GPU	Vega 8 @ 1100 MHz	Vega 11 @ 1250 MHz	Vega eight @ 1250 MHz	Vega xi @ 1400 MHz
TDP	65W	65W	65W	65W

For testing this new APU we're using the MSI B450 Carbon Gaming with 16GB of DDR4-3200 retention. We won't be covering the APU from every angle similar we did with the 2200G and 2400G every bit virtually of the information such equally retentivity scaling is still relevant.

For now nosotros want to run into how different the 3400G is to the 2400G, and what kind of value proposition is on the table considering the Ryzen R5 3600 starts at but $200 and there's also the previous-gen 1600 and 2600 parts which tin be establish for fifty-fifty less -- sans graphics, of course.

Application Benchmarks

The Cinebench R20 multi-core test shows the 3400G providing an 9% operation uplift from the 2400G model, largely due to that eight% increase in clock speed, and partly due to the improved IPC of Zen+. Information technology's worth noting that the R5 3600 is 81% faster in this test while only costing 33% more, though it does lack integrated graphics. Nosotros'll discuss more about that later.

We see a ~10% improvement in unmarried cadre performance thanks to the frequency boost and upgrade to Zen+. This placed the 3400G on par with the R5 2600X and this time the R5 3600 was just xv% faster every bit it'southward not able to put those extra cores to piece of work in this examination.

Memory bandwidth performance is much the same, Zen+ improves memory latency but equally you can run across in terms of bandwidth both sustained a transfer speed of 36 GB/s.

The 3400G was 10% faster than the 2400G in the 7-Zippo compression examination and while that's a decent picayune bump in a world where 6-core processors are now commonplace it doesn't look that impressive.

AMD's SMT implementation is very efficient when it comes to decompression piece of work in 7-nil. As a consequence the 3400G beats the Cadre i7-7700K and wasn't a great bargain slower than the 6-core/vi-thread 9600K.

We've tested Premiere using two configurations: one with the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, the standard graphics card used for testing CPUs, and so one using the intergrtated Vega eleven graphics for GPU dispatch.

With a highly capable detached graphics card the 3400G is actually very impressive in this examination, completing the return in merely 629 seconds. However, without a graphics carte it took 1762 seconds and that'south non and so dandy, if yous were going to use this processor for video editing and encoding, buying an entry-level graphics card would be the way to get, or ameliorate still just purchase the R5 3600 and pair that with an entry-level graphics card.

The 3400G was only 4% faster than the 2400G in the Corona benchmark and while that made both much faster than the Core i5-7600K, they were slower than everything else.

Similar margins are seen in the Blender Open Data criterion, this time the 3400G offered a six% operation boost over the 2400G and both trailed the 7700K.

Power Consumption

When information technology comes to power consumption the 3400G still sips power, pushing total consumption 10% higher than that of the 2400G and that meant system usage was 10% lower than what nosotros saw with the 7600K.

Moving on to operating temperatures we see that the 3400G peaked at 58 degrees using the Wraith Spire box cooler when running the Blender examination. Out of the box it sustained an operating frequency of 3950 MHz and when enabling PBO + AutoOC in the Ryzen Primary software that didn't change.

When testing with F1 2022 the 3400G ran much cooler despite the Vega 11 graphics now beingness in use, here the CPU peaked at just 45 degrees and ran at 4025 MHz. Enabling PBO + AutoOC pushed the operating temperature up to 48 degrees and this time we did get a 100 MHz bump to the operating frequency.

Gaming Benchmarks (with add-in GeForce GPU)

Before testing the integrated GPU, permit's take a quick wait at how the 3400G stacks upwardly to other CPUs when comparison gaming performance without a GPU limitation.

At 1080p it's faster than the Core i5-7600K and not a great deal slower than the half-dozen-cadre/12-thread R5 1600, moreover information technology provided an 11% boost over the 2400G. The 3400G is even more competitive at 1440p, situating itself between the R5 1600 and 1600X, great for budget processor.

Functioning in Battlefield V was respectable. For example, the 3400G mimicked the ane% low performance of the Core i7-7700K while the average was simply slightly downwards on the R5 1600. This fourth dimension the 3400G was up to 10% faster than the 2400G.

We constitute a like result when testing with The Division 2, here the 3400G offers a vii% functioning increase over the 2400G while abaft the R5 1600 past a x% margin. The 3400G is nonetheless 8% faster than the 2400G at 1440p, just now information technology'southward able to shut in on the 1% depression performance of the R5 1600 and 1600X.

Nosotros run into a pretty impressive issue in Far Weep. At first you might think the 17% functioning uplift over the 2400G is a mistake, only we assure y'all information technology's not. The improved cache and memory latency of the Zen+ architecture gives the 3400G a big reward in Far Cry New Dawn, enough to match the R5 1600X.

The margin comes down a fiddling at 1440p, only even then the 3400G was nevertheless 12% faster than the 2400G and once once again matched the R5 1600X.

Gaming with the Integrated Vega xi Graphics

Our first test shows a mere five% improvement in operation over the 2400G. The good news is that the game was highly playable at 1080p, pushing well over sixty fps at all times.

Next upwardly we accept Rainbow Six Siege and hither the 3400G was upwardly to 8% faster though both APUs performed very well, rendering over 60 fps, even at 1080p. Of course, we're using the everyman possible graphics quality preset, simply for integrated graphics, that'southward still impressive.

Fortnite as well plays well at 1080p merely unfortunately the 3400G offered no existent performance gain over the older 2400G in this title.

Nosotros see something similar in Far Cry New Dawn, despite the CPU side of the 3400G being much more punchy in this title, the Vega 11 overclock doesn't help here.

Adjacent to no deviation is seen in Strange Brigade, the 3400G provided a few extra frames but that was it.

Same goes for F1 2022. The 3400G is only good for a few extra frames, but the game was playable even at 1080p.

World of Tanks sees a 14% functioning improvement when upgrading to the 3400G. This is a championship that benefits from the Zen+ improvements but isn't heavily GPU spring when using the integrated graphics, so it's a rare state of affairs where the improved CPU functioning can be utilized in-game with the Vega eleven graphics.

Who Is It For?

When AMD released the first Zen-based APUs in February of last year information technology was an exciting time for these products to hit shelves. At the time graphics card pricing was heavily inflated due to mining need, even if yous were prepared to spend three or iv times more than you should, shelves were empty to get yous a new GPU.

The 2400G and 2200G gave gamers on a budget an culling. The APUs would permit yous play games, albeit with low quality visuals, only they gave you the ability to play and so upgrade to a discrete graphics card subsequently. Today though, nosotros have no such outcome. The second-mitt graphics card marketplace is thriving and you can buy a new Radeon RX 570 for as footling as $130 and that volition enable a vastly superior gaming experience. It'south like comparing chalk and cheese.

The Ryzen 5 3400G will set up yous back $149, pregnant the APU pick remains relatively cheap for those ownership new hardware, but nosotros feel in today'due south market information technology volition be relegated to be a niche product.

If your master interest is gaming, a Ryzen 3 1200 for $65 new with an RX 570 for $130 or a second-hand model for $60, will be a significantly meliorate gaming combo. Comparing to 'new' pricing, for but 30% more than you lot'll see over 200% more operation. But if you're willing to shop used on the graphics card, the combo volition be cheaper than just buying the 3400G.

For heavy productivity work, the 3400G isn't a toll effective option either. Instead you lot're better off with the Ryzen 5 1600 for $105 and pair it with a dirt-cheap discrete graphics menu. Yous'll be able to become something with the $45 leftover.

If all you want is a basic PC for office-blazon work, then the 3400G is suitable. Likewise, if yous're building a compact home theater PC and gaming isn't the focus, the 3400G is a really nice choice, too. Beyond that, you lot're better off with other alternatives equally nosotros only mentioned. The previous-gen 2400G can also be had for $100 correct at present and because the the 3400G was never l% faster, nosotros'd probably just get the 2400G and pocket the extra cash, save that for a improve graphics card in the time to come if gaming is at all in your plans.