A smaller serving of L3 cache means that the 5700G cannot keep pace with the Ryzen 5 5600X in F1 2020. The Core i7-11700K is also faster than AMD’s APU. Then again, at 240 FPS average, this is more than enough performance!
Godfall runs a little quicker on the Core i7-11700K, but the 5700G does beat out the old Ryzen 5 3400G convincingly. That will be appealing to high-refresh rate scenarios such as APU users who borrow their friend’s GPU for their 120Hz TV one weekend.
GTA V loves pools of L3 cache and fast CPU clocks. So the Ryzen 7 5700G gets demoted to Zen 2-level performance with an RTX 3080 in tow. Just over 100 FPS average isn’t bad for the APU, but the cheaper Ryzen 5 5600X running at a clean 120 FPS average puts that result into perspective.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider widens the gap up to the desktop big guns in the 11700K and 5600X. Here, the Ryzen 7 5700G still puts in a respectable average of almost 144 FPS. But the price competitive Intel chip is notable faster, as is the cheaper Ryzen 5 5600X.
dGPU Gaming Summary:
There’s nothing wrong with buying an APU and using it with a dGPU sporadically or if you can afford to upgrade in the future. With that said, our dGPU gaming tests with an RTX 3080 show that there are better gaming CPUs for the price than the Ryzen 7 5700G.
We struggle to see any justification whatsoever for buying the 5700G to use with a dedicated graphics card versus just getting something like a Ryzen 5 5600X. But that’s kind of obvious, given the resources and cost allocation of the onboard graphics for the Ryzen 7 APU.