AMD Ryzen 8000G 'Phoenix 2' desktop APU: limited to PCIe 4.0 x4 for GPU, PCIe 4.0 x2 for SSDs

Update: AMD reached out to us for a correction, stating that "all" of the new Phoenix 2 parts will have dual-channel and that this was a mistake. That's a good mistake, which is awesome... all Phoenix 2 dies will have dual-channel memory support, not single-channel like we reported below.

AMD detailed its new Ryzen 8000G AM5 desktop APUs at CES 2024, where we can expect the Ryzen 8700G and Ryzen 8600G based on the Phoenix 1 dies, while the Ryzen 8600G and Ryzen 8300G are based on the Phoenix 2 dies.

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AMD Phoenix 1 vs. Phoenix 2 dies inside Ryzen 8000G desktop APUs (source: AMD)

We're learning that the Phoenix 2-based Ryzen 8600G and 8300G will be limited in their memory channels and PCIe lanes, which might be an issue, even for a budget platform. GIGABYTE's new B650E AORUS ELITE X AX ICE motherboard and Ryzen 8000G Phoenix 1 dies with PCIe 4.0 x8 for discrete graphics cards and PCIe 4.0 x4 ready for M.2 NVMe SSDs.

AMD's new Ryzen 8700G and 8600G are based on their Phoenix 1 dies, so we have dual-channel DDR5 memory support, which is better than the single-channel DDR5 memory support on Phoenix 2 dies. Both dies support up to 256GB of DDR5 memory, which isn't too shabby for mid-range desktop APUs.

• Read more: Desktop Ryzen 8000G CPUs can run Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p 60fps without a GPU
• Read more: GIGABYTE teases AMD's next-gen desktop APU: Ryzen 8000G for end of January 2024

Phoenix 2 has gimped memory and PCIe lane support, whereas AMD includes just 14 total (10 usable) lanes, compared to Phoenix 1 dies with dual-channel memory support and 20 total (14 usable) lanes.

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AMD Ryzen 8000G desktop APU series support (source: GIGABYTE)

AMD has previously showed off its Ryzen 8700G running a Radeon RX 7900 XTX discrete graphics card on PCIe 4.0 x8 lanes, with single-channel DDR5 memory with decent performance. But... Phoenix 2 dies are gimped and will reduce performance in different areas (RAM, SSDs, overall performance, and more).