AMD Ryzen 3 1200 and Ryzen 3 1300X Processor Review

AMD Ryzen 3 – Low Cost Quad-Cores For the Masses

AMD is continuing its quest to clay back market share from Intel today with the release of Ryzen 3 processors. AMD is only releasing two Ryzen 3 processors today, the Ryzen 3 1200 and the Ryzen 3 1300X. Both of these are quad-core processors that have just four threads. It would be nice if they had Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT) technology like the Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 processors, but these are low cost offerings that are competing with Intel Core i3 dual-core processors with Hyper-Threading technology. So, at the end of the day AMD wins on the core count, but both have a total of four threads available for the system to utilize.

The lowest cost part will be the AMD Ryzen 3 1200 quad-core 65 Watt processor at a paltry $109. This budget friendly 4-core, 4-thread processor has a 3.1 GHz base clock and is capable of boosting to 3.4 GHz when needed. It doesn’t have the full eXtended Frequency Range (XFR) technology to reward those that use enthusiast cooling with higher clock frequencies, but AMD did allow this processor to have a 50MHz clock boost if everything is in order. You need to keep in mind that this is the budget friendly processor and the lowest priced Ryzen desktop processor.

If you are looking for something with a little more performance you can move up to the AMD Ryzen 3 1300X for $129. This 4-core, 4-thread processor is still a 65W part although it has a higher base clock of 3.5 GHz, a boost clock of 3.7 GHz and it can get up to 3.9 GHz with XFR.

What is the closest competition from Intel for the AMD Ryzen 3 1200 and Ryzen 3 1300X? AMD looks to have lined the Ryzen 3 1200 to compete against the Intel Core i3-7100 dual-core 3.9GHz 51W TDP processor ($115 shipped) and the Ryzen 3 1300X is supposed to be competing against the Intel Core i3-7300 dual-core 4.0GHz 51W TDP processor ($162.70 shipped). We say supposed to be as the AMD Ryzen 5 1400 is a 4-core, 8-thread processor at $159.99 shipped. If you are looking at spending $160, the AMD Ryzen 5 1400 would be more of a contender than any Ryzen 3 processor. AMD says that the Ryzen 3 processor series offers true quad-core performance for smooth gaming versus the Intel Core i3 series processors, but they should also do well for value-oriented business or general use computers where budgets are tight.

Both the AMD Ryzen 3 1200 and Ryzen 3 1300X will come with the Wraith Stealth cooler in the box. This cooler doesn’t have any flashy RGB lighting like the Wraith Spire, but it offer reliable CPU cooling without the need of paying more for an enthusiast class CPU cooling solution.

Without further ado let’s take a quick look at the test system and then start benchmarking these two processors!