Gaming: Benchmarks & Results
The Witcher 3 (Skellige)
The Witcher 3 is our go-to title for power consumption measurements because it almost always ends up generating results in line with manufacturer-defined power limits. The Skellige map produces the highest GPU and voltage converter loads that this game offers, so that's what we use. Host processing loads are somewhat below-average, though, especially since this title doesn't scale well with increasing core counts.
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
The smaller of AMD’s two Raven Ridge-based processors averages 32W across our 15-minute run, including spikes as high as 62W. Performance ranges from 34 to 43 FPS, depending on the scene, showing this to be an efficient chip. Processor temperatures peak at 44°C, while the voltage converters make it all the way to 48°C. Really, both are good results.
An average clock rate of 2.86 GHz lands far below the 2200G's base frequency, meaning there's still headroom to spare. The same can’t be said for AMD's on-die graphics engine, which operates at its 1100 MHz ceiling almost the entire time.
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
Not surprisingly, Ryzen 5 2400G is faster, but also more power-hungry. Its 40W average and 85W peaks are significantly higher than what we saw from Ryzen 3 2200G. In exchange, though, it offers frame rates between 38 to 50.
The 2400G's Zen cores operate at higher frequencies, though their rate over time is a bit erratic. Meanwhile, the Vega-based graphics engine stays at an almost-constant 1240 MHz.
We do measure higher temperatures, but they remain under 50°C using AMD's stock cooler. Its fan isn't obtrusively loud by any means.
Final Fantasy XV’s Benchmark
Final Fantasy XV’s stand-alone benchmark won’t get a permanent spot in our suite, but it’s a great choice for testing at 1280x720 using the lowest preset with Nvidia’s HairWorks turned off. The reason we're using it is that Final Fantasy does apply a substantial CPU load. In stark contrast to The Witcher 3, this game actually utilizes the cores we throw at it.
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
Ryzen 3 2200G, with its four Zen cores and 512 Stream processors, runs out of steam quickly. Its 24 to 30 FPS simply aren’t playable.
The benchmark run’s average power consumption increases to 37W, and the peaks rise to 67W. Our average temperature measurements hit just over 45°C for the processor and ~48°C for the voltage converters. Still, none of those numbers are cause for concern.
The CPU clock rate oscillates between an average of ~2.8 GHz and a maximum of 3.6 GHz. Again, the graphics engine is pegged at its 1100 MHz ceiling throughout almost all of our benchmark run.
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
Just because the Ryzen 5 2400G is faster doesn't mean it's fast. Frame rates between 26 to 36 fluctuate quite a bit; we believe this is due to relatively slow DDR4 memory shared by the CPU and GPU.
Our average temperature measurement is now up to 54°C, while the voltage converters reach 58°C. Still, though, those results aren't cause for concern. AMD’s Wraith Stealth thermal solution is up to the task, so long as you're running normal workloads and not overclocking.
The CPU bounces around between ~3 GHz and 3.7 GHz, while the GPU sticks at an almost-constant 1240 MHz. The visible drops almost always hit the host and graphics processing blocks simultaneously, making it look like the skipping is caused by scene transitions or loading of some sort.
In the end, AMD's Ryzen 5 2400G fares well enough at 720p. Of course, as we saw yesterday, even 1080p is attainable if you dial down the details far enough. Older titles like Need for Speed: Underground 2 and GTA: San Andreas run smoothly at 1920x1080, even with anti-aliasing enabled!
Losing simultaneous multi-threading and three Compute Units makes the Ryzen 3 2200G an inferior choice, despite its lower price tag. If you aren't up for overclocking, reserve that one for office machines and simpler HTPCs tasked with video playback (and not gaming).
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