AMD Ryzen 5 2400G Review

The Ryzen 5 2400G is one of AMD's mid-range Desktop processors. It was released in 2018 with 4 cores and 8 threads. With base clock at 3.6GHz, max speed at 3.9GHz, and a 65W power rating. The Ryzen 5 2400G is based on the Raven Ridge 14nm family and is part of the Ryzen 5 series.

Ryzen 5 2400G is also the successor of AMD's last gen Ryzen 5 1400 processor that was based on the Zen and 14nm process and was released in 2017.

Now, we're asking ourselves whether or not the AMD Ryzen 5 2400G finally dethrones the Core i5-8400 as the de facto ruler of the mainstream processors. Ultimately, it depends: the Ryzen 5 2400G doesn't reach the same single-core performance as Intel, but we're starting to see more games adopt multi-threaded CPUs, so that doesn't matter as much.

AMD's Zen series has landed, upping the ante with Intel in its high-stakes game for desktop PC market dominance with a well-rounded lineup of new chips that push mainstream platforms to higher core counts and more raw compute than we've ever seen. As a result, Intel's commanding presence in the enthusiast space is threatened in a way we haven't seen in over a decade.

As we've seen, gaming remains an advantage for Intel, so if squeezing out every last frame is all you care about, Intel's processors are a good choice. Much of that performance advantage will be less noticeable when gaming at higher resolutions, or if you pair the processors with a lesser graphics card.

Out of the box, the Ryzen 5 2400G is a better all-arounder than the Core i5-8400 and offers incrementally higher performance than its downstream counterpart. The bundled cooler reduces platform costs, and a wide array of motherboards offers plenty of choices for builders.

The AMD Ryzen 5 2400G was rolled out on Feb 2018 for $169, which puts it in the same general price range as the last-generation Ryzen 5 1400. This means that at least we're not seeing any considerable price jumps from generation to generation.

What this all means is that the AMD Ryzen 5 2400G is an absolute beast when it comes to multi-threaded workloads, especially at this price point. If you're counting on doing some video editing or compiling one hell of an Excel spreadsheet, you're going to see firsthand a performance boost with the Ryzen 5 2400G.

AMD has been having some trouble as of late which has made it even harder to compete with the incoming wave of Core i5 processors. That has forced the chip maker to be a little more creative and make do with their current product lines. Today we have the AMD Ryzen 5 2400G on hand, which in itself isn’t anything new. It’s basically a refreshed Ryzen 5 1400 with a clock speed boost. We say basically because it’s not a straight refresh however, there’s another change.

One of the nice things about the AMD Ryzen 5 2400G processors is that the retail boxed models come with a CPU cooler. So, you can pick something like the AMD Ryzen 5 2400G up for $169 and don’t need to spend any extra money on CPU cooling.

The AMD Ryzen 5 2400G retail boxed processor comes with the traditional ‘pancake’ CPU cooler. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done on this processor which is rated at 65W TDP. You do not need to have an aftermarket cooling solution unless you want to.

Our look today at the AMD Ryzen 5 2400G showed that it is a very capable processor. A 4-core processor sounds like it would be really under-powered these days, but we were pleasantly surprised with a snappy and very capable system. Having just 4 cores had this processor coming in at the back of the pack for heavily threaded workloads, but it performed better than some of its more expensive siblings in lightly threaded workloads where it shined thanks to its high base clocks.

The AMD Ryzen 5 2400G seems to be a decent performing chip that is readily available for $169 at your favorite retailer. The main competition for this processor is the Core i5-8400 6-Core unlocked desktop processor with Intel UHD Graphics 630 graphics ($182 shipped).

By comparison, Intel’s current 6-core processor is the Core i5-8500, which runs for a significantly higher $202 price tag. Going back a generation to Kaby Lake-S doesn’t make 4-core processors that much cheaper either, with the ageing Intel Core i5-7500 running for $202.

Now the biggest question is can AMD’s Ryzen 5 processor play games? The answer is simply yes as it got a respectable gaming score of 79% in our benchmarks.

The Ryzen 5 2400G clocks up to 3.9Ghz just as it promises on the box, and with AMD’s software you can take one of the cores all the way up to 4GHz. However, don’t expect to get much beyond that without seriously upgrading your cooling solution and manually tweaking voltages behind the operating system level.

If you’ve been looking for an affordable, powerhouse CPU that both works and parties hard, this is it.

Fresh from a successful roll-out of mainstream Ryzen 5 CPUs, AMD's attack on Intel now extends down into the mid-range with its Ryzen 5 2400G processors, which the company is making available as of Feb 2018.

Like all other Raven Ridge chips, the Ryzen 5-series CPUs drop into any Socket AM4 motherboard. But most will find a home on boards equipped with the A320 chipset, which has provisions for overclocking and offers plenty of connectivity options. Unlike Intel, AMD plans to utilize its current socket until 2023, so upgrading to future models shouldn't require a new motherboard.