AMD Ryzen R5 1400 Quad-Core AM4 Processor Review

Introduction 2017 has been a busy year for AMD and we've already had the release and reviews of many of their new CPUs. Of course, the Ryzen R7 1700, Ryzen R7 1700X, and the Ryzen R7 1800X certainly left us impressed. Also, their mid-budget Ryzen R5 1600X and 1500X offered incredible price vs. performance ratios. However, today we're taking a look at their most affordable R5 series CPU to date; the Ryzen R5 1400. AMD Ryzen R5 1400 Equipped with a quad-core eight-thread design, the R5 1400 represents a lot of mass-appeal. When you consider that you can pick one up for little over £150, its easy to understand why we're excited to see what kind of performance it offers. Not only concerning what it can compete with from Intel but also how much lower the performance is compared to all the other Ryzen chips we've tested so far! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWdhLXl5a5s Specifications Number of CPU Cores: 4 Number of Threads: 8 Base Clock Speed: 3.2GHz Max Turbo Core Speed: 3.4GHz Unlocked: Yes Package: AM4 Default TDP / TDP: 65W Supported Technologies AMD Ryzen Master Utility AMD SenseMI Technology AVX2 FMA3 Virtualization XFR (Extended Frequency Range) The “Zen” Core Architecture For more details, check out the official product page here. Important notes for this review! Previous reviews of the R7 were done with launch BIOS and the 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport XT (2 x 8GB) DDR4 2666MHz memory kits. These were running at 2400MHz due to BIOS issues. They also used MSI X370 Titanium motherboard. Today's R5 testing will be using a much faster memory kit on the more affordable B350 chipset motherboards. They're a more natural fit for these mid-range processors but may get a boost in performance due to faster memory speeds. Fast memory is vital for Ryzen to reach its full potential. We are looking into retesting our R7 series in an upcoming feature to reflect the updates to BIOS, games, memory compatibility, etc. shortly. Testing and Methodology Test Procedure Here at eTeknix, we endeavour to disclose key information regarding the benchmarking process so that readers can quantify the results and attempt to replicate them using their hardware. When it comes to CPU reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory although there are a few exceptions. Please note, we prefer to re-test each CPU within a product's performance range to ensure the results are accurate and reflect any changes to our samples over time or enhancements via graphics drivers. This means we now include fewer results, but they are more reliable and easier to decipher. As always, your choice of motherboard, the silicon lottery and other factors can yield different numbers, and there's always a margin for error when using software. Therefore, your experience may vary. Each benchmark will be run at least three times, and the average figure is taken to try to reduce the effect of hardware variation. Any relevant details regarding the parameters will be listed below. Handbrake To stress processors to their absolute limit and accurately judge performance in video editing workloads, we transcode a 7.7GB compilation of gaming footage; this particular file is freely available from here. The captured footage is 22 minutes and 12 seconds long, it has a bit rate of 50.1 Mbps and uses the Advanced Video Codec. Additionally, the video runs at a constant 30 frames-per-second and opts for a 3820x2140 (4K) resolution. Once loaded into Handbrake, we transcode the 4K MP4 to an MKV file using the "normal" profile. Test Systems AM4 Ryzen R5 Motherboard - ASRock Fatal1ty B350 AM4 Motherboard RAM - GEIL Evo X DDR4 2933/3200MHz CPU Cooler - Noctua D15S with dual fans Graphics Card - Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti Power Supply - BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 Watt Main Storage Drive - Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GB Chassis - Lian Li T80 Test Bench Operating System - Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit AM4 Ryzen R7 Motherboard - MSI XPower Titanimum X370 RAM - Crucial BAllistix 2666MHz (Soon to be upgraded and retested) CPU Cooler - Noctua D15S with dual fans Graphics Card - Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti Power Supply - BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 Watt Main Storage Drive - Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GB Chassis - Lian Li T80 Test Bench Operating System - Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit Z270 Motherboard – Combination used to determine widespread performance RAM – Crucial Ballistix Elite 16GB (2x8GB) 2666MHz (16-17-17) CPU Cooler – Thermaltake Water 3.0 with Gelid GC-Extreme Graphics Card – Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti Power Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 Watt Main Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GB Chassis – Lian Li T80 Test Bench Operating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit X99 Motherboard – ASUS ROG STRIX X99 GAMING RAM – 32GB Crucial Ballistix Sport (4x8GB) 2400MHz (16-16-16-39) CPU Cooler – Thermaltake Water 3.0 with Gelid GC-Extreme Graphics Card – Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti Power Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 Watt Main Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GB Chassis – Lian Li T80 Test Bench Operating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit Z170 Motherboard – ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ RAM – Crucial Ballistix Elite 16GB (2x8GB) 2666MHz (16-17-17) CPU Cooler – Thermaltake Water 3.0 with Gelid GC-Extreme Graphics Card – Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti Power Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 Watt Main Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GB Chassis – Lian Li T80 Test Bench Operating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit Z87 Motherboard - ASUS Maximus VII Ranger RAM - 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport XT (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1866MHz (10-10-10-30) CPU Cooler - Thermaltake Water 3.0 with Gelid GC-Extreme Graphics Card - Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti Power Supply - BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 Watt Main Storage Drive - Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GB Chassis - Lian Li T80 Test Bench Operating System - Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit Games Used Ashes of the Singularity (DirectX 12) Rise of the Tomb Raider (DirectX 12) Shadow of Mordor Tomb Raider Test Software Cinebench - available here 3DMark - available here AIDA64 Engineer - available here CPUID HWMonitor - available here CPU-Z - available here Handbrake - available here WPrime - available here Thank you Noctua, Crucial, ASUS, Gigabyte, Lian-Li, be quiet!, OCZ, for providing the hardware that helps makes these tests possible! CPU Benchmarks Ashes of the Singularity Straight away, the performance is pretty much what we expected and lower than everything else at stock. While it's around the same performance as the i5-7500, which costs about £40 more, overclocking had the performance close to the 4770K. Of course, that's a £350 CPU right now, so things aren't looking too bad for Ryzen 5! Cinebench R15 While it may only be quad-core, having eight threads does bring a nice benefit. Of course, the chip managed to keep up with some decent Intel offerings Most importantly, it even does a good job keeping up with the overclocked Ryzen 1500X. Handbrake While having processors with more cores and higher clock speeds is the way forward for Handbrake, the 1400 does an OK job. However, it is not designed for video rendering. WPrime Some fantastic scores here, not the fastest (naturally), but still very competitive against some of the more expensive Intel offerings. Memory Benchmarks Memory Bandwidth Firstly, we've got some very competitive memory performance here; the R5 1400 is certainly pulling its weight. However, please keep in mind that we used a faster memory kit for our R5 testing compared to our R7 testing. Memory Latency Ryzen latency is always high, which is a shame, but as seen in the test above, it's not hurting real-world performance. Discrete GPU Benchmarks 3DMark Here we see yet another solid score, and with the overclock, it's beating out almost all of the stock R7 CPUs. Rise of the Tomb Raider At stock clocks, the R5 1400 is the first CPU on our chart to be below 100FPS. However, overclocking tightened that up and put the FPS to 110.4. Of course, that's a fantastic score. Although, it's not that much difference from any other CPU tested here. Shadow of Mordor Another excellent result, showing that the R5 1400 isn't bottlenecking the GPU, more than competitive with anything else we tested. Power Consumption and Temperatures Power Consumption Ryzen is a little power-hungry, and since this is the smallest chip of the bunch, it's no surprise that it uses the least power of the Ryzen range. Temperatures While the R5 1400 requires less power, that also means it generates less heat. Because of this, it's easy to see that this chip shouldn't need a demanding cooler to keep it in check. Final Thoughts Pricing The AMD Ryzen R5 1400 Quad-Core processor is certainly affordable. Right now it's £158.99 on Amazon. However, we've seen some retailers listing is as low at £140, so shop around for the best deal! It may be the cheapest of the Ryzen bunch so far, but its performance is certainly competitive and it is even competitive against more expensive Intel offerings. Meanwhile, similar money will only get you the i3 Dual-Core CPUs from Intel, and you would have to spend up to about £210 for a comparable i5-7600! Overview Ryzen has been with us a while now and it continues to impress. While we weren't expecting world-beating performance from the R5 1400, it's still put up a good fight. Also, what's remarkable about this processors, and any R5 series processor, is how well they performance at this price range. We haven't tested any of the similarly priced Intel chips. However, the R5 1400 managed to keep up with many more expensive i5 quad-core processors. That makes this exceptional value for money for any system builder. When it comes to gaming, quad-core is king. More cores can bring benefits, but right now, at least four cores are what you want. As we saw in our benchmarks, the affordable chip may not be setting a new standard, but it's hardly holding back our graphics card either. This chip is more than good enough for gaming at 1080p and will appeal to those building more affordable gaming PCs.The stock clocks are a little While the stock clocks are a little lacklustre, you must remember all Ryzen chips are unlocked. Having an unlocked CPU means you can overclock it and thought overclocking, I managed to get it to an impressive 3.9 GHz with 1.4v, yet it still maintained entirely manageable temperatures. Of course, lower temperatures mean you're not going to need an expensive cooler to overclock; most budget aftermarket coolers will do the job. Of course, if you want to get the most out of this processors, you will want a B350 chipset motherboard. You can overclock on X370, but if you're thinking of buying the budget chip and a flagship motherboard, you need to rethink your build. Therefore, if you have extra money, get a faster Ryzen chip and the more affordable B350 motherboards for better balance. Pros Incredible value for money Quad-Core for Dual-Core (Intel) prices AM4 Platform Overclocks easily on B350 or X370 Ideal for HD gaming systems Easy to manage thermals Cons None "Overall, the AMD Ryzen R5 1400 may not be the fastest chip in the world. However, its performance far exceeds what you would expect given its retail price. However, it's by far one of the best budget chips we've seen in many years."