Gigabyte Teases AMD Ryzen 9000G Gorgon Point APUs Ahead Of Launch

We recently posted an article that explored the idea of serious gaming on integrated graphics. In that post, we were using an older Ryzen 5 5600G chip to prove our point, but AMD's Ryzen 8000G processors are much faster. (We're about to update that post with some numbers on that, if you're keen to see the difference.) Those parts came out way back in January of last year, though, so it's high time for an update, and now we have the first confirmation of sorts for the Ryzen 9000G CPU family.

This leak comes courtesy of Gigabyte, who updated the memory support list for its B650M Gaming WiFi6E (rev 1.3) motherboard. Right there above the list, you can see that we're viewing memory support for an unnamed "Ryzen 9000 G-series CPU". It doesn't get much more 'confirmed' than that:


Folks who read the site regularly will know that I am a fan of AMD's "G"-series processors. These are desktop CPUs built using silicon originally meant for mobile machines, and as a result, they have fewer CPU cores and more GPU horsepower than typical desktop CPUs. They also lack in some specific ways, but the point is that you can slap one into a system and suddenly have a real honest-to-goodness gaming rig on a single chip.

One of the key things you miss using a Ryzen 7 8700G over, say, a Ryzen 9 7900X—which is approximately the same price—is the extra four CPU cores. The Hawk Point die that those processors are based on only comes with eight cores, and while that's plenty enough for most users, it's always nice to have extra cores available for background tasks or multi-tasking. Well, from earlier leaks, we "know" that the Ryzen 9000G family will probably be based on Gorgon Point silicon, which is itself a refresh of Strix Point.


As a refresher, Strix Point is the codename for most of AMD's extant Ryzen AI 300 processors. The Strix Point die features four Zen 5 CPU cores, eight Zen 5C cores, and a full sixteen RDNA 3.5 compute units. Because it's monolithic, that means you'll be able to crank memory speeds up to the stratosphere—at least, on proper desktop motherboards with full-sized DIMM sockets.

Indeed, unlike some of the Ryzen AI mini-PCs that have started to sprout up, the desktop platform offers big advantages for those who enjoy gaming on integrated graphics. The higher power limit means that the CPU and GPU aren't stepping on each other's toes. Beyond that, memory and iGPU overclocking can both offer huge benefits to gaming performance, and you simply can't do those on a laptop processor. While it's tempting to consider a mini-PC, if you're at all concerned about speed, a proper desktop machine with a Ryzen 9000G chip would be the better choice.


Lower-end Ryzen 8000G processors used the smaller "Phoenix 2" die with Zen 4C cores and a tiny GPU; it will be interesting to see if AMD brings the smaller Kraken Point to the Ryzen 9000G family, too. If so, we might finally see "Ryzen 9" APUs based on Gorgon Point, while Kraken Point fills out the lower-end parts. Unfortunately, none of these chips are likely to appear until Q4 at the earliest.