If you have a Ryzen CPU in your desktop or laptop and you're wondering whether it comes with an integrated graphics card, the answer is: it depends. All AMD Ryzen processors made for laptops have integrated graphics cards. However, not all desktop AMD Ryzen processors have integrated graphics. Only those in the G series, with a "G" in the model name, do.
It is important to know whether the processor you're looking at has an integrated graphics card. After all, if the GPU you ordered doesn't come on time, a CPU without integrated graphics won't be usable. I was in this position when I bought an AMD Ryzen 7 for my new desktop, leading me to find out whether an AMD Ryzen has integrated graphics.
I learned a whole lot during that time, and I've compiled everything I learned in this convenient guide for you. So, if you're wondering whether Ryzen has integrated graphics, you're about to find out. Let's dive right into it.
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If you have an AMD Ryzen processor in your desktop computer or laptop, it is pretty normal to ask yourself, does Ryzen have integrated graphics? This is even more important if you're building a desktop for yourself.
Without an integrated graphics card in your desktop computer, you won't be able to see anything on a monitor unless you have a dedicated graphics card plugged in. This explains why it's so important to know the answer.
Well, simply put, some of them have integrated graphics, while others don't.
To better understand which AMD Ryzen CPUs you can expect to have an integrated graphics card or not, the next section will go into further detail.
Now that it's clear that not all AMD Ryzen CPUs have integrated graphics cards, it begs the question: which ones do?
If you have one of the many notebook computers that use AMD Ryzen CPUs, you certainly have an integrated graphics card.
Not all laptops come with a dedicated graphics card, so to make it possible for them to display content without one, all AMD Ryzen processors for laptops (also known as mobile AMD Ryzen CPUs) come with integrated graphics cards. AMD processors with both a CPU and integrated graphics in one chip are known as APUs (accelerated processing units).
Now, on to the desktop side of things, where things get a bit more complicated. Not all AMD Ryzen processors for desktops have integrated graphics cards. However, AMD had devised a very easy system to tell which ones do and which ones don't have integrated graphics.
Any desktop AMD Ryzen processor with a "G" in its model number has an integrated graphics card, and any without a "G" does not. You can think of the G series processors as those for "Graphics" or "Gaming".
For instance, if you have an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, then you do not have integrated graphics in the chip, so you will certainly need to use an external GPU.
However, if you choose to go for the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G instead, you'll be completely fine, as this comes with one of AMD's Radeon integrated graphics cards in-built.
The AMD Ryzen 9 series is at the top of the performance ladder for any PC builders who want to make a beast of a system.
Even though a computer using an AMD Ryzen 9 will likely have a dedicated graphics card, it's important to know when it has an integrated graphics card that can be used when a dedicated one can't.
All AMD Ryzen 9 processors for laptops have integrated graphics along with the CPU. This is necessary, as though there are very few laptops with this powerful CPU that don't use a dedicated graphics card, they still need a way to push information to the display, which is through an integrated graphics chip.
However, when we come to the side of the AMD Ryzen 9 CPUs for desktops, things change quite a lot. Unlike the AMD Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 chips, there is not a single Ryzen 9 processor that relies on an integrated graphics card.
If you want to spend the extra bucks for the power that an AMD Ryzen 9 will bring, you'll also need to splurge on a dedicated graphics card to match that power because you won't have integrated graphics, no matter what.
If you use a laptop that has an AMD Ryzen CPU, whether it's a Ryzen 3, 5, 7, or 9, you don't need to worry about checking whether it uses an integrated graphics card. It does, as long as it is a mobile processor.
Though you can tell whether your AMD Ryzen CPU has an integrated graphics card by using its model number, you might not know how to find this.
The good thing is that you can easily check the name of your AMD Ryzen CPU, and in turn, whether it has integrated graphics, by using the Device Manager utility on your Windows PC.
If you're not familiar with how to do this, follow the steps below:
Now that you see the name of the AMD CPU in your computer, check whether it has a "G" in the name or not. Then Google the name of the Ryzen you have to find the name of your integrated graphics.
There's another way to check the name of the processor in your computer, and that's by using Task Manager:
If you want to save money on a laptop or a desktop build, you might be wondering whether you can use the integrated GPU from AMD to do most of the things you'll be doing anyway.
Here's the thing: a modern integrated graphics card can do quite a lot. In fact, they surpass the dedicated GPUs from several years ago when it comes to tasks like gaming.
However, if you want to play modern games with the best integrated graphics card you can get from the AMD Ryzen 7 and 9 CPUs - the AMD Radeon 680M - you need to set your expectations right.
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You will be able to play most games from 2022 at "Low" settings, and quite a few like Elden Ring and God of War at "Medium", but "High" settings are pretty much only achievable for less demanding modern games. If you play games from 2020 or earlier that aren't too graphically demanding, you should have little issue playing many games at "High" settings.
As the newest generation (6000 series) of Ryzen chips for desktops doesn't include any APUs at the moment, buyers will need to look to the Ryzen 5000 series CPUs for any G series chips. Because this is an older generation, the performance of their integrated graphics is worse than what the best integrated graphics in their notebook CPUs can do.
For instance, with the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G, you get one of the integrated graphics cards from the AMD Radeon RX Vega series.
Unfortunately, when it comes to gaming and handling titles from 2022, your PC is going to have a lot of trouble keeping up. A game like Elden Ring will run at the bare minimum acceptable frame rate if you're on "Low" settings, and titles like God of War are simply unplayable.
However, if all you do with your graphics card is some mild video editing, basic 2D games, and so on, you shouldn't have much of an issue with integrated graphics.
So, let's say you want to build a computer. You're going to put an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 in it, so you don't necessarily need an onboard graphics card.
However, you see a good deal on an AMD Ryzen 5 5600G. This is one of the AMD Ryzen CPUs with integrated graphics. Is there any performance disadvantage to taking that over its variant without integrated graphics: the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X?
The straight answer is yes. Even though they are mostly the same model, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X will perform a lot better than the 5600G.
This is probably down to heat. With an APU like the Ryzen 5 5600G, the GPU is located on the same chip as the CPU. With another component producing heat in such proximity, clock speeds may drop to keep the temperature in check, which adversely affects performance.
The Ryzen 5 5600X doesn't have a GPU in its space, which means all the heat is solely being produced by the CPU for pure performance purposes.
So, if you're certain you're going to be using any dedicated graphics cards, it's best to go for any of the Ryzen CPUs that don't have integrated graphics cards.
With the Ryzen CPUs that come in laptop computers, you always get integrated graphics. However, if you opt for any of the Ryzen CPUs for desktops, you need to make sure that they have integrated graphics if you're not going to have dedicated graphics.
You'll know which Ryzen CPUs have integrated graphics cards because they belong to the G series. This means that the model number will have a G at the end. You can find Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 CPUs with integrated graphics, but there are no Ryzen 9 CPUs that have an integrated graphics chip on them.
We hope this article answered all your questions about integrated graphics on your AMD processor. Take a look at some of our related articles for more computer-related info.
