Ryzen 5 8600G Desktop Processor

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We’re well into the next generation of PC hardware, and builders have more than enough options for creating a respectable desktop rig. This includes Integrated Graphic Processors or APUs (Accelerated Processing Units as AMD lovingly refers to them) which typically house enough visual prowess for basic multimedia functionality and not much else. However, most components don’t come cheap nowadays if you want a dedicated setup, but AMD is keen to change all of that with their latest Ryzen 8000G Series processors.

Enter the Ryzen 5 8600G Desktop Processor, a midrange Zen4 APU that combines a CPU, integrated GPU, and like its beefier 8700G brother comes equipped with the same XDNA NPU (neural processing unit) to handle dedicated AI processes. Factor in a Radeon 760M, a nice integrated graphics chip within many laptops and portable handhelds (AMD Z1) comparable to what we’ve seen in the ASUS ROG Ally, and you’ve got a respectable chipset worth looking into.

Specifications of the Phoenix

Almost everything you know about the Zen4 architecture can be applied here with a distinct twist: the 8000G series is internally derived from the Ryzen 7040 mobile processor family in reincarnated desktop form. Sharing the same ‘Phoenix’ codename and even the same silicon, the 8600G in simplest terms is a beefier Ryzen 5 7640H in a different configuration—an APU that has proven to be a distinct graphical beast all its own.

Let’s get into some quick technical specs which are mostly universal across the board. The 8600G with Ryzen AI is an AM5 socket (LGA1718) design that features a default 65W TDP for longer frequency boost. A 6-core/12-thread count CPU backed by a 22MB total (6MB L2+16MB L3) cache with a base 4.3GHz and 5.0GHz maximum boost clock, and AI-focused NPU XDNA speed at 1.6GHz. The RDNA3-based Radeon 760M integrated graphics touts 2.9GHz clock speed and features eight compute units (CU) containing 512 streaming processors. AMD also equipped this with 32 texture mapping units (TMUs), 16 raster operation processors (ROPs), and eight ray-tracing cores.

The IGP/APU portion of the Ryzen 8600G effectively makes it mildly more powerful than existing RDNA2 graphics utilized on current Ryzen 7000 desktop processors, to the point that the 760M is more suitable for gaming right out-of-the box than others before it.

Test Build

For testing purposes and to produce the most optimal results, AMD supplied some of the necessary components (CPU, RAM, motherboard) this time around. For the sake of transparency, I wanted to reveal those specific details before moving forward with the review:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 8600G processor
• RAM: G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5-6400 32GB (16GBx2)
• Motherboard: Gigabyte AORUS B650 ELITE AX ICE ATX
• GPU: ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 4070 Twin Edge OC (disabled during testing)
• PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G+, 80Plus Gold 1000W
• HDD/SSD: 1TB Samsung 980 Pro MVNe PCIe 4×4
• CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12A 120MM Cooler

*Example build is intended to match relevant PC configurations. Components may be independently sourced or provided by manufacturers for evaluation purposes.

The only other change was opting to use my own Noctua NH-U12A Cooler, even though the 8600G includes an AMD Wraith Stealth CPU air cooler inside the box. The Noctua unit simply runs quieter and does a noticeably better job of dispersing heat from the CPU, although the Wraith still does a satisfactory job for stock builds.

Benchmarking: Cinebench and Adobe

On first impressions, the 8600G is exactly what you’d expect from an entry-level processor. It doesn’t make any waves in its price range hierarchy and appears to be a near-equivalent of the existing Ryzen 7600X at best, with the added benefits of upgraded onboard graphics and costing $100 less than its 8700G companion.

Like the 8700G, testing the 8600G In Cinebench R23 and Adobe Creative Suite yielded adequate figures with the standard 65 TDP when matched against it higher 105W and 120W Ryzen contemporaries, but expectedly falls well behind compared to 12th, 13th, and 14th generation Core CPUs from Intel. Also like the 8700G, the 8600G produced similar results during real world usage despite not being a performance leader. Regardless, I never found the 8600G lacking when put to task as a light workstation.

Argument for AI

One thing that remained mostly unknown is the dedicated hardware-based AI NPU accelerator, which is still so new that it’s difficult to get a good idea of genuine NPU benchmarking. However, I did make use of a program called UL Procyon which acts as a AI inference test that runs off of Microsoft’s Windows ML (machine learning) API. The report shows my sample returning an overall score of 108.

The main question with this test is what it means for intelligent computing. In this case, I don’t exactly know just yet. At the time of this review, there’s no definitive way or method to know how effective the AI integration will end up being. One silver lining is that AMD has partnered with Microsoft to incorporate NPU utilization graphs on Windows Task Manager sometime in the future. At the very least, I have a vague frame of reference on AI performance with the Ryzen 8600G.

Integrated Gaming with Radeon

From my experience, integration of the Radeon GPUs makes both the 8600G and 8700G attractive propositions for tighter budgets or ultra-slim PC rigs. With real-time rendering and other 3D tasks this is theoretically possible, along with the combined potential of hardware-driven AI computing through AMD XDNA. Ultimately, the 8600G/760M combo serves as quick way to enjoy casual gaming if you can’t afford or unwilling to invest in a separate GPU.

Just to be clear, we’re talking gaming without an external graphics card, meaning everything is powered by the CPU alone and not a full-on GPU replacement. AMD touts decent performance without overheating. Unlike the 780M though, where 1080p gaming is possible with normal and/or some high presets with moderate adjustments, the Radeon 760M in the 8600G is more comfortable humming along at 720p running anywhere between an average range of 30-60fps for most titles. You can try to cross that threshold when leaning on AMD’s FidelityFX (FSR) supersampling technology, which implements open-source algorithm upscaling to make everything appear cleaner while retaining framerate, or to gain a mild boost.

Testing the 8600G/760M setup was done mainly to see how well everything ran based on AMD’s recommendation of keeping default graphic presets on ‘Low’ and attempt to see what tweaking can achieve for optimized results. The selected pool of games ranged from multiplayer to even current and older AAAs entries. Overall, if you’re content with 720p resolutions the 8600G is going to have more than enough grunt to play newer online-capable titles like Street Fighter 6 and TEKKEN 8, topping out at a fixed 60FPS.

Moving onto single player titles was more varied and any performance limitations were present, but everything proved surprisingly playable. Games that ran best throughout my tests included the 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4 (59fps) and DOOM Eternal (71fps), while other titles like Dead Space Remake (55fps), Starfield (41fps), Forza Motorsport (31fps) and Cyberpunk 2077 (46fps) were good enough to enjoy. Enabling FSR did produce smoother experiences, but average framerates across the board only improved between 3-5fps.

Conclusion: A Powerful, Economical NPU

AMD has finally delivered on making wholesale integrated graphics a reality with their Ryzen 8000G Series processors. The Ryzen 5 8600G Desktop Processor is a great all-in-one CPU solution with productivity, gaming, and dedicated AI acceleration in mind, although the latter implementation of the NPU is realistically more ‘what-if’ futureproofing at the time of this writing.

My biggest criticism of the 8000G lineup—or the 8700G specifically—is its noticeably higher MSRP of $329, which pits it unfavorably against AMD’s own Ryzen 7000 offerings out of the gate. Fortunately, the 8600G avoids this issue by simply being $100 cheaper ($229) without compromising a substantial amount of performance. If your budget is strictly geared towards affordability or want to build the tiniest of mini-PCs, this might be one of the absolute cheapest and arguably more compelling choice for AI, gaming, and everyday entertainment.