Is An AMD APU A Good Alternative To Buying A Graphics Card For Gaming? It Depends

Let's be clear upfront: nothing can really replace a dedicated graphics card. Having a separate hardware unit that handles all the graphics demands, frees up your CPU for calculations, and provides overall better cooling isn't an advantage you can really beat. Sometimes that isn't an option, though, and an APU might be your best pick.

Ignoring brands and models for now, an APU offers only two distinct advantages over a discrete GPU: it's cheaper and more efficient. Its efficiency is both in the energy and space-saving categories. So, having both your CPU and GPU consolidated in the same unit can be useful if you're trying to save space and money. The drawback, though, would be poorer game performance (in terms of fidelity and FPS rate) — and that's fine if you don't play games with huge graphic demands. Perhaps if you're a fan of older or simpler titles, or you don't mind playing "League of Legends" and "Fortnite" on low settings, you could pull this off.

The good news is that you might be able to cheat a little if you get a high-end AMD APU. That's where an APU could actually be a genuine alternative to a GPU. If you've been using an older, weaker GPU for a while, say an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 or a Radeon RX 470, you could upgrade to an APU and see a significant boost in performance.

If you want the very best of lightweight gaming, you can replace a GTX 1650 or an RX 570 with the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G APU. The caveat is that you must pair it with at least 32GB of DDR5 RAM, since it comes with no dedicated VRAM. With this setup, you should be able to handle 1080p gaming fairly well. You could probably find this retailing for less than $400, whereas buying a full GPU and an equivalent-performing CPU could easily cost you over $400. You just have to be ready to sacrifice the latest GPU tech like ray tracing, DLSS, and FSR.

For GPUs such as the GTX 1050 (2GB) or 1050 Ti (4GB), you could replace them with a Ryzen 5 8600G. You wouldn't miss much either because those didn't make the cut for ray tracing or DLSS. As far as price goes, you would be saving quite a bit if you were also planning to replace your CPU.

There are other AMD APUs out there, but when it comes to gaming, the Ryzen 7 8700G and 5 8600G set the new baseline. They're affordable, efficient, and powerful enough to replace aging budget GPUs. In fact, if you find yourself using any of these five cheap graphic cards you should avoid, the AMD APUs might be a good upgrade for you. Don't forget, APUs also come with the option of adding a better discrete GPU when you have the money, space, or time to spare.