Why should you care about Ryzen 8000G APUs

The Ryzen Zen4 APUs have been out for about a week now, and all major tech reviewers have released their reviews. You can watch or read the reviews from your favorite reviewers for exact performance data. Now, the question arises: why am I writing this article, stating that these APUs are important?

If you're up to date with review data, you know that these APUs (or the iGPUs, to be more precise) are in the neighborhood of a dedicated GPU like the RX 6500 XT. In fact, the RX 6500 XT pulls ahead in most cases. And that raises a huge problem: the platform cost of Ryzen 8000G APUs is higher than that of a budget dedicated GPU build. Yes, the raw CPU power will be less in those budget dedicated GPU builds, but the overall gaming experience will be massively better. Don't believe me? Just look at the costs below.

Ryzen 5 8600G core cost

Budget gaming PC core cost

Now, I know there are cheaper A620 motherboards and more affordable DDR5 RAM options. However, the same can be said for the budget PC build; there are B450 motherboards that cost literally half of the one I chose, and the performance will be the same. Additionally, the RX 5600 XT is back in the Indian market somehow, and you can buy a brand new one for ₹14-15k, which will still outperform the iGPU of even the 8700G.

There is no denying the fact that, as of right now, Ryzen 8000G APUs are poor value for money.

The key point here is "as of right now." We all know that AMD always drops the prices of their products after a few months of launch. Take our Indian market and the AM5 platform, for example. When AM5 was first launched, the Ryzen 5 7600X typically cost about ₹27-28k, and the cheapest AM5 boards were over ₹17k. Now, you can grab a 7600X for ₹22-23k (sometimes under ₹20k), and there are a lot of AM5 boards in the ₹12-15k range. On top of it, DDR5 RAM is getting cheaper and cheaper. Earlier, when DDR5 launched, they cost literally twice (or more) than equivalent (equivalent as in capacity and tier) DDR4 kits. Now, the price difference is so low that if you are building a midrange-high end PC, it makes virtually no monetary difference. 

So if we consider the fact that slightly older processors like Ryzen 5 5500 and i3-12100F will keep getting cheaper, it it will be hard to recommend 8000G APUs for low budget gamers. But if you're someone who could afford to get a GPU down the line then these new APUs are absolutely worth considering.