CPU WINNER
AMD RYZEN 7 5700 G
Another year rolls around, and AMD is still the absolute king of
the hill when it comes to processor releases. This time though,
it’s not the debut of its 5 000-series chips, but the much-awaited
5000-series APUs instead. Yep, the 5700G is the perfect high-end
processor for those only after an integrated experience.
With strong single-core performance, exceptional integrated
graphics prowess for older titles and esports, and an
affordable $360 price tag, it’s a chip that really does stand
out from the pack. Even better, compared to the 300 0-series
APUs the 5700 G has a full complement of PCIe 3.0 lanes
too, so if you do want to add a discrete GPU later down the
line, you won’t be punished for it.
The only downside is that there’s no PCIe 4. 0
support, so you’ll be missing out on those super high-
speed PCIe drive transfer speeds. That’s a small
price to pay if you need an iGPU baked-in like this.
-^ $360,^ http://www.amd.com^
-^ Reviewed:^ Maximum^ PC,November^2021
CPU RUNNER UP
INTEL CORE
I 5 - 11600 K
Unlike last year, Intel has finally made it back
into our good graces with its latest 11 th gen
series. Well, not all of those chips, but one in
particular has made a comeback, and that’s
the legendary Core i5- 116 00K.
This six-core, 1 2-thread processor packs
in excellent single-core performance, strong
multi-core prowess, a tolerable iGPU, PCIe
4.0 as standard, and pretty decent thermal
and power requirements too.
Early doors saw some poor PCIe 4.
performance, but that was subsequently
BIOS-patched out of the way. Although
its price point is impressive, it does have
one major drawback—no stock cooler as
standard. But apart from that, if you’re
looking for a gaming processor, and don’t
fancy flocking over to Team Red, this chip
could be the perfect choice.-^ $262,^ http://www.intel.com^
-^ Reviewed:^ Maximum^ PC,^ June^2021