In mid-February 2018, AMD released the first two Ryzen desktop processors with embedded Vega Graphics. As we have seen in tests, the Ryzen 3 2200G and the Ryzen 5 2400G offer impressive performance for low budget games. Both are capable of delivering impressive 720p performance in modern games (for integrated graphics silicon) and passable 1080p performance in slightly older titles. It's fair to say that AMD's first series of "Raven Ridge" processors meets AMD's expectations for these budget-friendly parts. We have already demonstrated their traditional playing abilities but we wanted to know if these chips could handle something a little more immersive – namely virtual reality.

To be clear, Raven Ridge processors are far from the performance threshold needed for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive platforms. In fact, the VR gaming performance of the chips are so low that we have not even included the results of VR Mark in their respective reviews. Indeed, we have no illusions about running any of these headsets with AMD integrated graphics – at least not this generation. However, the performance threshold for Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality platform is much lower.

Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality (which, in its current form, is actually only VR under another name) requires the lowest system requirements of all desktop / laptop VR platforms currently on the market. And it's important in these days of expensive RAM and even more expensive high-end graphics cards. The HTC Vive requires at least a Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or an AMD Radeon R9 290, and the Oculus Rift supports cards as low as the GTX 960 / GTX 1050 Ti from Nvidia or the AMD RX 470. In contrast, the Windows Mixed Reality "Ultra" specification requires GPUs of a lower level, such as Nvidia's GTX 1050 cards or AMD's RX 460 cards. Vega GPU cores in our Raven Ridge chip are not comparable for most GPUs mentioned above. However, Microsoft also offers a lower specification option with WMR that works with Intel's integrated Graphics HD Graphics 620. The low spec option does not support a lot of games, but it offers an immersive productivity environment, and that's the experience we're looking for – at least for beginners.

Microsoft does not yet officially support AMD's Ryzen processors with Vega graphics for mixed reality. However, the performance potential of the Ryzen 5 2400G far surpasses that of Intel's integrated HD Graphics 620 silicon, which is expressly supported. Despite the fact that Microsoft did not officially wave, we wanted to know first-hand: Is a system powered by a Ryzen 5 2400G can run a mixed reality Windows HMD at a reasonable degree?

On the Intel side, Microsoft worked closely with the company to ensure that 6 ^th 7 ^th and 8 ^th Intel Core i processors with integrated graphics would be able to drive Windows MR headsets, but Microsoft had to cut corners seriously to make it work. The Intel HD Graphics 620 can not reliably deliver the 90 frames per second (fps) that have been the standard smooth VR standard for a while now. Thus, Windows MR headsets operate at a refresh rate below 60 Hz when they are powered by Intel's built-in graphics. We suspected that the additional graphics capability of the AMD Ryzen G processors could offer a better RM Window experience than Intel's integrated graphics, but there was only one way to find out. So we put together pieces together and started building and testing.

READ MORE: Best Virtual Reality Helmets

MORE INFORMATION: All Virtual Reality Content

PLUS: Basics of Virtual Reality

In mid-February 2018, AMD released the first two Ryzen desktop processors with embedded Vega graphics. As we have seen in tests, the Ryzen 3 2200G and the Ryzen 5 2400G offer impressive performance for low budget games. Both are capable of delivering impressive 720p performance in modern games (for integrated graphics silicon) and passable 1080p performance in slightly older titles. It's fair to say that AMD's first series of "Raven Ridge" processors meets AMD's expectations for these budget-friendly parts. We have already demonstrated their traditional playing abilities but we wanted to know if these chips could handle something a little more immersive – namely virtual reality.

To be clear, Raven Ridge processors are far from the performance threshold needed for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive platforms. In fact, the VR gaming performance of the chips are so low that we have not even included the results of VR Mark in their respective reviews. Indeed, we have no illusions about running any of these headsets with AMD integrated graphics – at least not this generation. However, the performance threshold for Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality platform is much lower.

Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality (which, in its current form, is actually only VR under another name) requires the lowest system requirements of all desktop / laptop VR platforms currently on the market. And it's important in these days of expensive RAM and even more expensive high-end graphics cards. The HTC Vive requires at least a Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or an AMD Radeon R9 290, and the Oculus Rift supports cards as low as the GTX 960 / GTX 1050 Ti from Nvidia or the AMD RX 470. In contrast, the Windows Mixed Reality "Ultra" specification requires GPUs of a lower level, such as Nvidia's GTX 1050 cards or AMD's RX 460 cards. Vega GPU cores in our Raven Ridge chip are not comparable for most GPUs mentioned above. However, Microsoft also offers a lower specification option with WMR that works with Intel's integrated Graphics HD Graphics 620. The low spec option does not support a lot of games, but it offers an immersive productivity environment, and that's the experience we're looking for – at least for beginners.

Microsoft does not yet officially support AMD's Ryzen processors with Vega graphics for mixed reality. However, the performance potential of the Ryzen 5 2400G far surpasses that of Intel's integrated HD Graphics 620 silicon, which is expressly supported. Despite the fact that Microsoft did not officially wave, we wanted to know first-hand: Is a system powered by a Ryzen 5 2400G can run a mixed reality Windows HMD at a reasonable degree?

On the Intel side, Microsoft worked closely with the company to ensure that 6 ^th 7 ^th and 8 ^th Intel Core i processors with integrated graphics would be able to drive Windows MR headsets, but Microsoft had to cut corners seriously to make it work. The Intel HD Graphics 620 can not reliably deliver the 90 frames per second (fps) that have been the standard smooth VR standard for a while now. Thus, Windows MR headsets operate at a refresh rate below 60 Hz when they are powered by Intel's built-in graphics. We suspected that the additional graphics capability of the AMD Ryzen G processors could offer a better RM Window experience than Intel's integrated graphics, but there was only one way to find out. So we put together pieces together and started building and testing.

READ MORE: Best Virtual Reality Helmets

MORE INFORMATION: All Virtual Reality Content

PLUS: Basics of Virtual Reality