Overclocking AMD Ryzen 3400G

 Overclocking AMD Ryzen 3400G

We didn't have much luck with the Ryzen 5 2400G, only pushing the all-core CPU clock to 3.85GHz with a vcore of 1.425V, and the GPU frequency wouldn't move even with the GPU and SoC voltage at 1.15V. The Ryzen 5 3400G was considerably more accommodating, hitting an all-core overclock of 4.1GHz and allowing us to boost the GPU frequency from 1,400MHz to 1,650MHz, giving it a 400MHz edge overall. Know about Amd Ryzen 5 3400G Overclock.

Analytics

First, a Ryzen 5 2400G problem. Since Zen 2's introduction, we've retested every 1st Gen Ryzen CPU with 3,466MHz RAM. The Ryzen 5 3400G had no difficulties, however the 2400G wouldn't run over 3,200MHz, so keep that in mind. The Ryzen 5 2400G is incompatible with X570 boards, and our standard X570 motherboard lacks video outputs. Since we're not using the power-hungry X570 chipset, power figures may be lower.

The Ryzen 5 3400G was faster at base speed than its predecessor, although the Core i5-9400F and Core i5-9500F were faster. HandBrake's shift from Zen to Zen+ offered large returns but lacked Zen 2's oomph. Only in PCMark Photo Editing could it match the Core i5-9400F, and overclocked it was faster than the Core i9-9500.

In Cinebench's single-threaded test, it fell below the slowest Zen 2 CPU and Intel's cheapest options. In AMD's multi-threaded test, the Ryzen 5 3400G's lack of more than four cores and Zen 2 architecture hurts it; it scores substantial increases over the Ryzen 5 2400G but still lags behind CPUs with more current internals.

The APU was mixing it up with other Zen+ CPUs, with a 99th percentile frame rate of 80fps at stock speed and 82fps once overclocked in Dota 2, which is near the Ryzen 5 2600X level, but with a significantly lower average frame rate. In Far Cry 5, the Ryzen 5 3400G averaged a better frame rate, which isn't unexpected given its 4.2GHz max boost and 100MHz higher base clock. Both Intel's lower-tier 9th Gen CPUs and AMD's 3rd Gen Ryzen CPUs provide reduced turn times in Civilization VI. The 3DMark Time Spy test ranks the two APUs bottom and second-worst among current CPUs.

Intel's onboard graphics were a stuttering mess in three of our four tests, but Dota 2 was playable at 1080p and not too far behind the Ryzen 5 2400G. For a cheap gaming CPU, you'd be crazy to use Intel graphics due to a 20fps disparity between the 99th percentile and average frame rates. Only the AMD APU achieves playable frame rates in Far Cry 5, improving on its predecessor (faster RAM definitely helps) and trouncing the Core i5-9500.

With 50% fewer cores than other CPUs, power consumption was low.

Conclusion

The situation is mixed. The Ryzen 5 3400G is the new APU king and is superior in every manner than the Ryzen 5 2400G, especially when overclocking, but its performance outside of gaming is mediocre compared to the competition and AMD's own Zen 2 CPUs. The Ryzen 5 3600 shows how much more performance AMD added in July. The Ryzen 5 3400G's early 2018 architecture seems antiquated in late 2019, demonstrating how rapidly things change.

AMD's Ryzen 5 3400G has no competition. You wouldn't consider it for a system with a distinct GPU - the Ryzen 5 2600 or Core i5-9400F are cheaper and quicker in most tests, so this is for folks who can't buy separate CPUs. Here, the Ryzen 5 3400G is a terrific bargain, since 1080p is feasible in a decent variety of games if you turn down the settings (console-level doable). You may also choose 1,600 x 900, as monitors at that native resolution are commonly available and cheap as chips.

We'd want to see Zen 2, as content development gaps are huge compared to current-generation CPUs. The 7nm Navi GPU architecture would be helpful, given Ryzen 5 2400G's gaming improvements aren't great. Ryzen 5 3400G combined with an overclockable motherboard is a wonderful option for an entry-level PC gaming machine, despite its flaws elsewhere.