AMD's Ryzen 2000-series CPUs with Vega graphics (popularly known as Ryzen APUs) offer both solid CPU performance and respectable GPU performance. It's hard to passively cool a 65-W chip in a small space, though. Builders who are extremely sensitive to fan noise should probably opt instead for one of the chips AMD just announced: the Ryzen 3 2200GE and Ryzen 5 2400GE, both spec'd with 35 W TDPs.
Ryzen APUs | Cores/ threads |
Base clock |
Boost clock |
Vega GPU config |
GPU boost clock |
TDP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ryzen 3 2200GE | 4/4 | 3.2 GHz | 3.6 GHz | 8 CU | 1100 MHz | 35W |
Ryzen 3 2200G | 4/4 | 3.5 GHz | 3.7 GHz | 8 CU | 1100 MHz | 65W |
Ryzen 5 2400GE | 4/8 | 3.2 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 11 CU | 1250 MHz | 35W |
Ryzen 5 2400G | 4/8 | 3.6 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 11 CU | 1250 MHz | 65W |
The table above compares the chips to their 65-W brothers, and the step down from 65 W to 35 W doesn't impact their clock rates as much as you might expect. In particular, the graphics clock rates are untouched on these parts—although we'd suspect the integrated Vega processors' boost behavior might be different on these chips. The CPU parts of both models take a performance hit, but mostly in their base clocks.
As you can see, the new chips have the exact same core configuration as their higher-TDP counterparts. They're almost certainly based on the same silicon running at slightly-detuned clocks and presumably a bit lower voltage. It's also possible that AMD bins these chips for efficiency to some degree. Such a chip could make a fine HTPC or a casual gaming system, given their Vega GPUs' prowess.
The only question is when these chips will be available, as they're nowhere to be seen at e-tail yet. If our past experiences with low-power AMD chips are anything to go by, you may need to snap one of these up the moment you see it for sale.