AMD's pre-CES news bonanza included some basic Raven Ridge APU specifications, along with some detailed performance projections, but now the company has listed more details on its site. The new APUs come bearing the Zen architecture paired with Vega graphics cores and feature some of the enhancements we'll see with the Zen+ processors, such as the improved Precision Boost 2.
AMD Raven Ridge Desktop APUs
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Ryzen 5 2400G With Radeon RX Vega 11 Graphics | Ryzen 3 2200G With Radeon Vega 8 Graphics |
|---|---|---|
| Cores Threads | 4/8 | 4 / 4 |
| Base Clock (GHz) | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| Max Boost Clock (GHz) | 3.9 | 3.7 |
| Graphics Compute Units | 11 | 8 |
| Stream Processors | 704 | 512 |
| Max GPU Clock (MHz) | 1250 | 1100 |
| L2/L3 Cache (MB) | 6 | 6 |
| Memory Speed | DDR4-2933 | DDR4-2933 |
| Memory Channels | Dual Channel | Dual Channel |
| TDP | 65W | 65W |
| cTDP (Watts) | 45-65W | 45-65W |
| Price | $169 | $99 |
The Raven Ridge processors support DDR4-2933, which is a nice upgrade over the Ryzen family's typical DDR4-2666 support. The Raven Ridge processors use the Infinity Fabric to connect the single four-core CCX (Core Complex) and the Vega graphics cores, and as we've seen demonstrated time and again, increasing the memory frequency also improves the Infinity Fabric's frequency. That leads to improved performance in gaming, which is a good fit for a processor that features Vega graphics cores. We also expect other improvements from design tweaks, which might include the lower L2 and L3 latency that we measured with the Threadripper processors.
The APUs drop into existing AM4 motherboards and the integrated Vega graphics will use the display outputs. AMD also demonstrated overclocking both the CPU and GPU during its pre-CES event, so there is room for tuning. The bundled Wraith Stealth cooler should also provide room for overclocking the 65W processors.
The listing also included base frequencies. The 4C/8T Ryzen 5 2400G comes with a default 65W TDP ceiling and a 3.5GHz base frequency that clocks up to 3.9GHz. The 4C/4T Ryzen 3 2200G steps back to a 3.6GHz base and 3.7GHz boost clock.
AMD is also upgrading the APUs with Precision Boost 2, which should improve performance in multi-threaded workloads. AMD's current-gen Ryzen processors provide only dual-core and all-core boost frequencies, but the new Precision Boost 2 algorithms include a more sophisticated set of boost frequencies that operate based on the number of active threads. The feature now scales from one to eight active threads, which will help capitalize on Ryzen's already strong multi-threaded performance. AMD has not provided a complete listing of the multi-core boost frequencies yet.
AMD also treated us to some performance projections during the CES event, which we've included in the album above. AMD's benchmark results are impressive against Intel's notoriously slow integrated graphics. As always, we recommend that you wait until there are third-party reviews. AMD has publicly announced the processors will launch on Feb 12, so you probably won't have to wait for long.
