AMD Raven Ridge desktop APU launch date, specs, and efficiency

The full specs for the primary two AMD Raven Ridge desktop APUs have now been launched. The strongest of the 2 new chips is the Ryzen 5 2400G, with the Ryzen three 2200G slotting into the Ryzen lineup beneath it. Despite the 2000-series nomenclature the brand new APUs are utilizing the unique Ryzen 1000-series manufacturing course of, so that they’re 14nm elements versus the brand new Zen+ 12nm lithography. That’s not going to make an look till the Ryzen 2 elements begin rolling into shops in April.

The primary constructing block for the Raven Ridge APUs is shaped of the union between the Zen processor cores, launched with the Ryzen CPUs, and the Vega GPU structure. These two vastly completely different lumps of silicon are related by way of AMD’s superior Infinity Fabric interconnect. It’s this high-speed linkage that permits the 2 disparate applied sciences to speak with one another and permits the kind of finegrain management essential to hold the CPU and GPU parts working at their finest whereas below the constraints of a 65W TDP.

Both the brand new Raven Ridge chips are going to be retiring two of the unique Ryzen processors earlier than the remainder of the Ryzen 2000-series chips hit the market. The Ryzen 5 2400G will slot neatly into the house beforehand occupied by the Ryzen 5 1400, with the identical price ticket, superior CPU specs, and extra graphical grunt than you’ve ever seen baked right into a processor.

The Ryzen three 2200G will successfully exchange the Ryzen three 1200, however this time is available in cheaper regardless of rocking a speedier quad-core CPU element sitting alongside its Vega graphics core. Both the unique Ryzen chips had been rated at a 65W TDP, however even with the additional GPU energy the brand new APUs are becoming in that very same energy/thermal envelope.

Both the Raven Ridge APUs sport quad-core CPUs, however the Ryzen 5 2400G comes with simultaneous multi-threading (SMT) enabled, that’s roughly analogous to the HyperThreading characteristic from Intel. The Ryzen 5 2400G can also be clocked larger than the Ryzen three 2200G, with a max enhance clockspeed of three.9GHz versus three.7GHz. Considering the Ryzen 5 1400 it is changing topped out at three.4GHz that’s a superb chunk faster.

The Raven Ridge chips are additionally the primary desktop AM4 elements to utilise the second technology of AMD’s Precision Boost know-how. This hyperlinks into the Extended Frequency Range (XFR) characteristic and permits Ryzen 2000-series chips – overlaying each Raven Ridge and Ryzen 2 – to hit the upper clockspeeds on a extra common, extra helpful foundation. 

Originally Precision Boost would solely kick in when simply two cores had been getting used, however sadly a whole lot of functions – video games specifically – will offload a small quantity of labor onto different cores. This offloading is simply sufficient to maintain these cores energetic within the eyes of Precision Boost 1.zero and means you get caught on the primary clockspeed. 

With Precision Boost 2.zero, nonetheless, it’s based mostly extra on CPU temperature and cargo fairly than simply an arbitrary two-core cut-off. That makes it extra opportunistic – within the phrases of AMD – and implies that our video games will possible be working the processor to its fullest clockspeed.

Again it’s the telemetry monitoring of the Infinity Fabric interconnect which makes it doable to have such detailed management over the completely different cores.

Thanks to AMD’s resolution to go for a ‘one socket to rule them all’ strategy the Raven Ridge APUs will merely drop into any current AM4-based motherboard. Not that I’m likening Lisa Su to Sauron right here, although I did hear many interns misplaced their lives when she realised Raja Koduri had taken one of many palantirs with him to Intel.

There is one main caveat to all this nonetheless (the Raven Ridge socket compatibility, not the raging of the darkish lord) you will have to make sure that no matter AM4 motherboard you select to pair along with your new APU has been up to date with the newest BIOS replace.

Because of the modified reminiscence compatibility, and the upgrades to the Precision Boost and XFR options, every AM4 motherboard will have to be up to date. If you’re shopping for a brand new board you’ll have to hold an eye fixed out for the ‘AMD Ryzen Desktop 2000 Ready’ sticker, and for those who’re dropping into an current board then every producer has promised to have their BIOS updates able to roll for the February 12 launch.

The challenge is that Raven Ridge goes to be the guinea pig for these new BIOS updates earlier than the Ryzen 2 refresh will get dropped in April. Along with the brand new Ryzen 2000-series CPUs there shall be a brand new set of 400-series chipsets, however these may have help proper out of the field.

The 400-series boards gained’t actually change the efficiency of the chip itself however do provide improved overclocking help and additional I/O compatibility and efficiency.

“The new 400-series chipset is an evolution of the 300-series,” AMD’s James Prior instructed us on the CES Tech Day. “We’re going to improve a couple of capabilities, like when you plug in a USB hub to our root complex you get better throughput from multiple USB connections at the same time, we’re improving power consumption. We’re also taking in a bunch of the feedback from the launch of the 300-series motherboard and pushing those into the design of the 400-series motherboards. So the new high-end boards are going to have improved memory layout, memory overclocking, VRMs, power delivery, as well as a change in the chipset.”

In a uncommon transfer we’ve received the pricing of each the inaugural Raven Ridge CPUs forward of launch in February. The Ryzen 5 2400G is ready to retail for $169 whereas the Ryzen three 2200G goes to ship for simply $99.

That places the highest chip on the identical worth because the outgoing Ryzen 5 1400 and the Ryzen three APU hitting the marketplace for lower than the worth of the Ryzen three 1200 CPU it’s changing.

We don’t know if there are going to be another Raven Ridge desktop APUs being launched this yr, however we’ll know extra as soon as the remainder of the GPU-less Ryzen 2000-series processors have hit the market. Then we’ll see any potential gaps within the lineup that may very well be stuffed by APUs.

What’s trying possible, nonetheless, is that the Raven Ridge chips will prime out on the Ryzen 5 stage. It doesn’t appear to be there are going to be APUs hitting the market with the identical stage of CPU energy as the present Ryzen 7 lineup. It’s doable we’ll see a six-core Ryzen 5 Raven Ridge chip, however even then it is perhaps a little bit of a squeeze retaining CPU and GPU working under the 65W TDP. We may see a 95W APU sooner or later, knocking across the identical $200 mark as the highest Ryzen 5 CPUs, however that’s simply hypothesis proper now.

The new Raven Ridge desktop APUs are going to be the primary Ryzen 2000-series chips that we’ll see being dropped into an AM4 motherboard, bringing with them the improved Precision Boost and XFR options, in addition to larger frequencies out of the field.

Unlike the upcoming Ryzen refresh CPUs the Ryzen 2000 APUs shall be utilizing the identical 14nm design because the preliminary Ryzen vary, so there are not any particular IPC positive aspects coming from a brand new manufacturing node. But the mix of upper clockspeeds and a extra opportunistic dynamic frequency mode means the Raven Ridge chips are greater than able to outperforming the previous Ryzens they’re changing.

Compared with the outgoing Ryzen 5 1400 the brand new 2400G is providing one other 18% and 11% by way of the chips multi- and single-threaded efficiency within the Cinebench exams AMD have carried out to date.

The positive aspects are much less thrilling for the Ryzen three chips, with the 2200G solely providing a efficiency improve of 15% and four% by way of its multi- and single-threaded improve over the Ryzen three 1200.

But that’s solely the CPU aspect of the equation. While meaning the Raven Ridge APUs are going to be greater than aggressive with any equal processor that Intel can put out at that worth, the Vega GPU element means they’re manner out in entrance of Intel on the graphics aspect of issues.