Last week, AMD launched some new APUs for PC DIYers. The AMD Ryzen 5000G series APU lineup, also known as the Cezanne APUs, currently consists of the Ryzen 7 5700G(E), Ryzen 5 5600G(E), and Ryzen 3 5300G(E). Most reviewer attention was grabbed by the flagship Ryzen 7 5700G with its 8C/16T CPU and Vega 8 graphics, but this weekend the humble Ryzen 3 5300G has shown itself to be the little quad-core that can. Sadly, at this time, while Ryzen 7 5700G and Ryzen 5 5600G have become available to PC DIYers, the AMD Ryzen 3 5300G(E) APU remains an OEM-only part. I don’t know when/if that will change.
This weekend, Korean overclocker Safedisk snatched three quad-core CPU processing world records using the AMD Ryzen 3 5300G APU. Clicking that link you will see the three newest entries on Safedisk’s wall include a world record benchmark score in y-cruncher – Pi-1b (53sec 681ms), Geekbench3 – Multi Core (32200 points), and GPUPI for CPU – 1B (2min 2sec 651ms). These records were achieved running the quad-core APU at very high speeds beyond stock. Ordinarily, this unlocked processor is supposed to run at 4.0GHz, boosting to 4.2GHz.
In Safedisk’s hands, the 5300G hit overclocks of 38 per cent plus, running at up to 5.523GHz. Aided by Liquid Nitrogen coolant, chilled to -115°C, this OC made the little APU a star performer in a number of benchmarks. It seems to be the case that the 7nm CPU here is rather adept at calculating Pi, and whatever mix of benchmarks Geekbench throws at the silicon to get its multi-CPU score.
Other key components in the Safedisk benchmarking PC were; a G.Skill Ripjaws 16GB kit running at 2,400MHz CL14, and an Asus ROG Crosshair VII Extreme X570 motherboard. A supporting cast of GeForce GT 710, Arctic MX-5, 240GB SSD, and 2,000W PSU from Enermax sustained the system.
These are impressive numbers for the quadcore APU, but enthusiasts and gamers are increasingly looking at hexacore processors or better as a firmer investment baseline for a system that will last a few years.