AMD Ryzen 8000-Series AI CPUs: A Buying Guide

January 12, 2024

Announced at CES at the beginning of 2024, AMD has revealed their upcoming range of AMD Ryzen 8000G Series desktop processors for the AM5 platform. These new chips will feature the most powerful integrated graphics to date and will bring the power of a dedicated AI neural processing unit (NPU) to desktop PC processors for the first time with the introduction of Ryzen AI.

As gaming experiences become increasingly immersive, businesses demand higher productivity, and content creation reaches new heights of complexity, the question of which CPU may be right for you remains.

But, that’s why we’re here. In this article, we’ll outline this new powerful range of AMD Ryzen 8000 CPUs and help you decide which is best for you.

The Ryzen 8000 Lineup

There are four new CPUs in this lineup, three available to buy individually and one limited to certain pre-built partner systems slated to be released by the end of Q1 2024.

Overall, this is what the lineup looks like:

Features of the Ryzen 8000 CPU range

As you can see, not all of the range comes fitted with AMD’s NPU technology, just the top two offerings in the stack. Both include AMD Ryzen AI technology, which AMD says is “uniquely able to accelerate AI software capabilities in your PC to optimize AI workloads, improve AI processing efficiencies, and unlock exciting experiences like AI-powered noise cancellation.”

So if you are someone who utilises a lot of AI software and undertakes AI workloads, focusing your attention on these two chips will likely be your best bet moving forward.

All of the 8000 series processor models do feature AMD’s most powerful built-in graphics though, with the use of Radeon 700M technology, albeit at differing power levels for different price points. The top offering in the stack - the Ryzen 7 8700G - features Radeon 780M graphics which AMD says is “the fastest built-in graphics you can get in a desktop processor”.

Image credit: AMD

During their CES presentation, AMD shared some benchmarks that showcase the performance of the 8700G in a range of modern games. Interestingly, it looks like it can actually handle some pretty graphically intense games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Farcry 6 at 1080p, all with a respectable average framerate of over 60FPS. 

However, these results are from having graphical and detail settings at their lowest. So even though the ability to play modern AAA games smoothly without a dedicated GPU is there, it might not be the most enjoyable experience as the visuals are significantly reduced.

Instead, if you are a gamer who sticks to less demanding titles such as League of Legends and DOTA 2, an APU like these can get you playing at very high frame rates for a very low cost.

AMD even went so far as to showcase the Ryzen 8700G’s compute power by comparing it to a system comprised of an Intel i5-13400F with an NVIDIA GeForce 1650. In each task, the singular CPU seemed to outperform the CPU and GPU combo, with its performance in LAME being up to 4.6x more powerful.

Image credit: AMD

Best Choice for Gaming

Each of the 3 main CPUs from the 8000 series range should provide a good gaming experience in a wide variety of games. It just depends on how much visual fidelity is important to your experience.

For those who wish to play more demanding AAA games and want the best experience possible without a dedicated GPU, opting for the top-of-the-range Ryzen 7 8700G is the way to go. At 1080p, you’ll be able to enjoy smooth gameplay, but will have to be content with slightly more undesirable graphics.

Those that do plan on using a dedicated graphics card, might be better suited to either of the two middle-tier offerings - the AMD Ryzen 5 8600G or the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G. Both have identical cores and threads and the slight difference in integrated graphics power won’t matter anyway. 

The only aspect to consider, however, is if you plan on undertaking AI workloads and think you’d see the benefit of a chip with an NPU. If so, make sure to opt for the AMD Ryzen 5 8600G as it’s the only one out of the pair with Ryzen AI capabilities.

Best Choice for Productivity & Content Creation

For those who do a lot of CPU-heavy tasks like video and photo editing or even 3D modelling, the Ryzen 7 8700G would likely be the best bet. Its 8 cores and 16 threads mean it should breeze through intense tasks as well as keep up with multitasking.

For those who are looking for a CPU for more simple day-to-day productivity or working from home tasks, either of the middle-tier cards will likely suit. As with choosing for gaming, deciding whether or not you want a processor with a dedicated NPU for AI tasks will be the top deciding factor here.

The Chillblast Advantage

While Chillblast may not currently feature systems with AMD 8000-series AI processors, the excitement doesn't end there. An opportunity awaits enthusiasts to build their custom AI machine with Chillblast's cutting-edge components.