AMD Ryzen 7 2700 vs AMD Ryzen 7 3700U vs AMD Ryzen 5 3450U

AMD Ryzen 7 2700

The AMD Ryzen 7 2700 is an eight-core desktop processor that can handle sixteen threads simultaneously thanks to Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT). This technology is equivalent to Intel's Hyper-Threading. Launched in April 2018, the Ryzen 7 2700 is the second fastest Ryzen 7 processor and is much more economical than its flagship sibling. The Ryzen 7 2700 has a 65 W TDP, which is nearly 50% more efficient than the 105 W TDP Ryzen 7 2700 X. This energy efficiency comes at a cost to performance though.

The Ryzen 7 2700 has a base clock speed of 3.2 GHz, which can be boosted by Extended Frequency Range (XFR) up to 4.1 GHz. The power gain is still high in multi-threaded applications, although this is some way off the Ryzen 7 2700X. The Ryzen 7 2700 benefits from AMD's new Zen+ architecture, with a greater number of instructions per cycle (IPC) and higher clock speeds than last year's Zen chips. The Ryzen 7 2700's eight cores are divided into two clusters that are connected by Infinity Fabric, a subset of HyperTransport. Each cluster has its own L3 cache.

The Ryzen 7 2700 has good performance in games. However, if it is operating at a lower base clock because of low TDP, then the Ryzen 7 2700 falls behind the Ryzen 5 2600 in gaming benchmarks. This behaviour could be because many games currently lack multi-core support. Hence, games rely more on clock speed more than core count.

Detailed information, benchmarks and values can be found in our review of the Ryzen 7 2700.

AMD Ryzen 7 3700U

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700U is a mobile SoC that was announced in January 2019. It combines four Zen+ cores (8 threads) clocked at 2.3 GHz to 4 GHz with a Radeon RX Vega 10 graphics adapter with 10 CUs (640 shaders) clocked at up to 1,400 MHz. Specified at 15 Watt TDP, the SoC is intended for thin mid-range laptops. In Chromebooks, AMD calles the APU AMD Ryzen 7 3700C, but with the exact same specifications (and performance).

The Picasso SoCs use the Zen+ microarchitecture with slight improvements that should lead to a 3% IPC (performance per clock) improvements.

The integrated dual-channel memory controller supports up to DDR4-2400 memory. As the features of the Picasso APUs are the same compared to the Raven Ridge predecessors, we point to our Raven Ridge launch article.

Performance

The average 3700U in our database is a solid mid-range CPU as of early 2021, its multi-thread benchmark scores matching those of the Core i5-10310U and the Core i5-1035G7 (the Ryzen 5 PRO 3500U is found close nearby as well). This Ryzen 7 is good for more than just binge-watching Netflix and writing e-mails. Just do not expect it to be as fast as a Core i7-11800H.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and sufficiently high CPU power limits, the ThinkPad E595 is among the fastest laptops powered by the 3700U that we know of. It can be up to 50% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Power consumption

This Ryzen 7 series chip has a default TDP of 15 W (also known as the long-term power limit). This can be changed by a laptop manufacturer to anything between 12 W and 35 W with clock speeds and performance changing accordingly as a result. Either way, that's a little too high to allow for passively cooled designs.

Last but not the least, the Ryzen 7 3700U is manufactured on a 12 nm process for lower-than-average, as of mid-2023, energy efficiency.

AMD Ryzen 5 3450U

The AMD Ryzen 5 3450U is a mobile SoC that was announced in Q2 2020 as a refresh. It combines four Zen+ cores (8 threads) clocked at 2.1 GHz to 3.5 GHz (-200 MHz versus 3500U) with a Radeon RX Vega 8 iGPU with 8 CUs (512 Shaders) clocked at up to 1200 MHz.

The Picasso SoC uses the Zen+ microarchitecture with slight improvements that should lead to a 3% IPS (performance per clock) improvements. Furthermore, the 12 nm process allows for higher clocks at similar power consumption.

The integrated dual-channel memory controller supports up to DDR4-2400 memory. As the features of the Picasso APUs are the same compared to the Raven Ridge predecessors, we point to our Raven Ridge launch article.

Performance

The average 3450U in our database is in the same league as the Core i3-1115G4 and also the Ryzen 3 4300U, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a better-than-expected result for an aging lower mid-range chip that is the 3450U, as of mid 2022.

Your mileage may vary depending on how high the CPU power limits are and how competent the cooling solution of your system is.

Power consumption

The Ryzen 5 has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 15 W, a value that laptop manufacturers are allowed to change to anything between 12 W and 35 W if required with clock speeds and performance changing correspondingly. These values are fairly high, making active cooling solutions something of a necessity.

The CPU is built with a somewhat old, as of late 2022, 12 nm process for lower-than-average energy efficiency.