Performance: 38 out of 40
While it is indeed true the Ryzen 5 3400G is not Zen2 based, the upgrade to Zen+ over the original Zen architecture found in the Ryzen 5 2400G is noticeable. Buyers will get a nice little boost on the CPU and ‘iGPU’ side of the equation. Considering the asking price, and market niche, that indeed is a Good Thing™. Just understand that excellent performance for an APU is not the same as saying excellent performance for a CPU.
Ease of Use: 20 out of 20
This is where AMD and their latest APU knocks things out of the park. Thanks to using the older Zen+ architecture darn near any AM4 motherboard with included monitor ports (HDMI/DP/etc.) will work with this little bad boy. At worst you will have to flash the BIOS to a newer revision. That is it. No new pricey motherboard. Nothing. Just near plug and play upgrade simplicity.
Innovation: 10 out of 20
If the upside to using Zen+ instead of Zen 2 is ease of use… the downside is lack of innovation. Zen+ is getting long in the tooth to say the least. So, while using a Zen+ based design is an upgrade over the Ryzen 5 3400G it replaces… it is not that big a change.
Value: 19 out of 20
Since the Ryzen 5 3400G is Zen+ based and not Zen 2 the associated build costs are also rather low. To be more precise, instead of having to spring for a 500-series based motherboard just about any inexpensive AM4 motherboard will work. Mix in an extremely reasonable asking price and this makes for a rather good argument in the Ryzen 5 3400G’s favor.
Final Score: 87 out 100
It may not be Zen 2 based, but the Zen+ based Ryzen 5 3400G is still a rather good value. Its combination of motherboard support with low, low asking price makes it tailor made for those wanting to upgrade without breaking the bank. In return for little money, it will offer decent 1080P gaming performance, and enough CPU horsepower to more than satisfy the entry level consumer. Just do not expect it to offer a massive performance improvement over the previous Ryzen 5 2400G. Better, but not that much better.
