AMD Radeon R5 is a common choice of users these days who are building their computer system in a budget. If you are planning to purchase then we recommend you to read this article to the end. As it covers all the specification and benchmarks which can help you make a better decision.
AMD Radeon R5 Specification
Radeon R5 graphics comes with two versions. Integrated and dedicated graphic processing unit. And if you’re wondering why their specifications differ from, then you should know that there is a variation between them.
The graphic processing that is on-board the CPU on the motherboard is referred to as integrated graphics, whereas a graphics card or GPU is a separate piece of technology that is used for processing video data for both in videogames and video rendering software.
Integrated Graphical Processing Unit (GPU)
A number of mid-range mobile Bristol-Ridge-based APUs, such as the A10 series, come with the Radeon R5 (Bristol Ridge) integrated graphics card. It has 384 shader cores that run at 720 MHz (15 Watt APUs) or 800 MHz (35 Watt APUs). The performance can also vary depending on the variable TDP (specified per laptop model) and the installed main memory.
The 800 MHz clock speed is roughly half of the GTX 1060 and 1070 cards, which were top of the line versions a few years ago. Due to 128 shading units the rendering from the Radeon R5 integrated graphics is quite low grade in comparison.
These integrated graphics CPUs are for those users who do not need much graphical power and use their computer system for basic tasks only. The inbuilt graphics are for fairly basic visual processing of word processing apps, as well as for streaming videos from YouTube or other video streaming services.
Dedicated Graphical Processing Unit (GPU)
Radeon R5 also relates to an AMD Radeon R5 GPU, which may be stronger than AMD integrated graphics. However, they cannot compete with newer cards because they are basically outdated. It has 320 unified shaders and a 64-bit DDR3 memory bus that runs at 873 MHz. The Radeon R5 M430 continues to use the outdated GCN 1.0 architecture and features DirectX 12.
The gaming performance is comparable to the Radeon r5 M330, placing it in the entry level market. In low settings, only non-demanding games such as Overwatch or Farming Simulator 2017 could be played smoothly. The “M” in the product name stands for “mobile,” indicating that it is a graphics card for laptop computers. It will handle the streaming system and graphics, but it won’t give high-performance gameplay.
Performance and Benchmarks
The TDP, model, and main memory decide the performance level of integrated R5 CPU. A typical ULV model with a TDP of 15 Watt and fast twin channel main memory is approximately on par with dedicated GeForce 920M or Radeon R7 M260 graphics cards. As a result, demanding games from 2015 and 2016 may only run properly in the lowest quality settings.
The user benchmark cannot even have distinguished performance results between inbuilt graphics and one of the Radeon R5 GPUs. The AMD Radeon R5 benchmark scores 97.8% lower than leading companies in graphics processing. The R5 graphics earned a 649, while the GTX 1080 Ti received a 14,203.
With this score you will only be able to play games from early 2010s and 2015s such as Counter Strike 1.6 with 720p resolution and lowest in-game settings. And the frame rate would be around 30-ish or so. The dedicated Radeon R5 is not that much better than integrated GPU as it almost performs the same but with higher consistency in comparison.
In fact, if you want to play even simple games on your computer, you should consider purchasing a better graphics processor than the R5 on-board graphics or the R5 range of AMD GPUs, because they are insufficient.
Important Points to Consider
There are some important things you will need to consider before making any decisions:
- Because integrated graphics cards share the entire system, there is no match between these cards and discrete graphics cards.
- The R5 Radeon series cannot be compared to GeForce and HD graphics GPUs because they can only work at low resolutions.
- The R5 series supports, Automatic graphics switching between integrated and discrete GPUs. The AMD Radeon R5 M230 can natively handle multiple displays using Eyefinity technology.
- The R5 series has ZeroCore, which reduces power usage when the display is switched off, and Power Gating, which powers down non-used parts of the chip.
Conclusion
Graphics processing technology has grown really fast in recent years and due to this AMD Radeon R5 graphics are now old and outdated. Nevertheless, it is still popular among users who do not wish to use high-level gaming programs. Hope this article helps you with any confusion and to make a better decision.
Also read: Acer C720 Chromebook (11.6-Inch, 2GB): the New Generation Laptop
