Amd athlon 3000g review in Spanish (complete analysis)

Finally, the AMD Athlon 3000G is a reality and we as always will bring you a review as complete as possible installed on the HTPC Asrock DeskMini A300. After the good feelings left by the 200G series processors, AMD is again betting on a 14nm Raven Rigde silicon- based CPU now increased to 3.5 GHz in its 2C / 4T configuration.

This new APU features Radeon Vega 3 graphics from 192 stream processors with a frequency of 1100 MHz, 100 MHz more than the 200GE. Something very interesting that AMD has done with this 35W TDP CPU is unlocking their cores, and both GPUs and CPUs can now be overclocked with quite considerable increases thanks to the included heatsink that supports about 65W. All this and more we will analyze in this review, will it be the best processor for HTPC of this 2019? Of course it is in price, with just over 50 euros.

We thank AMD for their trust in us by lending us this processor to be able to do our analysis.

AMD Athlon 3000G technical characteristics

Unboxing

On this occasion we have not been provided with the complete bundle of this CPU, since it has arrived with the HTPC ASRock DeskMini A300 in which we will test it. In principle, we only have a small box similar to the one used by the Ryzen of the previous generation to store only their CPU, of course with the corresponding hard plastic package to avoid bending the pins.

In any case, for a normal user who is going to buy this AMD Athlon 3000G it will come in a flexible cardboard box with the CPU and the included thermal solution, which will be exactly the same as that used in the 200G, 220GE and company.

Design

This AMD Athlon 3000G processor is presented to us as it could not be otherwise with an encapsulation for the AM4 socket of AMD. On top of the substrate we have large IHS that identifies AMD processors that in this case should not be welded to the 14nm silicon built by GlobalFoundries. It is made of aluminum and copper, and its assembly is carried out in the corresponding Chinese facilities.

On the underside of the substrate we will have the corresponding Micro-PGA (Pin Grid Array) matrix of 1, 331 gold-plated contacts, and identical to the rest of the AM4 processors. The compatibility aspect will be very important, since we should not make the mistake of thinking that its architecture is Zen +, since it is a CPU based on a 14nm Zen Raven Rigde silicon, so its compatible chips will be the AMD A300, B250 and X470, leaving out the last X570 for Ryzen 3000.

Thermal Solution

In its individual purchase, this AMD Athlon 3000G processor comes with its corresponding thermal solution that you will be seeing at the top. It is AMD's most basic heatsink for its CPUs, although still superior in performance to that of Intel.

It consists of a simple finned aluminum block with a slightly smaller square core than the CPU IHS with the thermal paste already applied. In the upper part we also have a fairly silent 70mm axial type fan installed with speed control managed by the plate.

The method of fastening in the socket is exactly the same as that used in the Wraith Prism, that is, with a double claw and quick fixing lever. The most important thing about it is that its maximum dissipation capacity is 65W of TDP, while the CPU has one of only 35W. This means that at maximum performance and even with aggressive overclocking, we will not have heating problems.

Features and Specifications

After taking an in-depth look at the elements for design, we are going to go inside the CPU to see what its characteristics are, and thus clarify what we really have in this CPU renamed to "3000".

For starters, this AMD Athlon 3000G is based on the Raven Ridge 14nm FinFEt architecture built by GlobalFoundries. It is therefore important to know that its 2 cores and 4 processing threads technically belong to the ZEN architecture and not to the ZEN +, much less to the ZEN 2. This revision has allowed the working frequency to be increased to 3.5 GHz, being example the same offered by the Athlon 240GE.

But the main difference with the previous Athlon, is that for an entry price of $ 49 we have these cores unlocked, so we can do manual overclocking from the BIOS or better from AMD Ryzen Master. For this we will of course need a chipset that supports overclocking, and the A300 of the ASRock mini PC does not work. Therefore, for this test we will transfer the processor to a board with B450.

The CPU set is completed with a 192 KB L1 cache, 1 MB L2 cache and 4 MB L3 cache, amounts that do not vary from the other Athlon as is logical. All this is expected to generate a maximum TDP of 35W with a TjMax of 95 ⁰C. The memory interface has not changed either by not implementing the Picasso architecture, so its native capacity is 2667 MHz in Dual Channel up to 64 GB. This is not an impediment to be able to use XMP profiles that raise the frequency to 3600 MHz.

To compete with them and the Intel, we have inside an AMD Radeon Vega 3 iGPU equipped with 3 graphics cores (NGCU) that add 192 stream processors. The clock of this 14nm Vega GPU is up to 1.1 GHz, being 100 MHz more than the previous Athlon. Once again, we can overclock them to increase performance in a timely manner, and also their capacity is quite high.

Ultimate Competitor of the Intel G5400

As we have seen throughout the analysis of its characteristics, this AMD Athlon 3000G comes ready to compete against you with the Intel Pentium G5400. It's a CPU with the same number of cores and threads, albeit lower frequency (3.5 GHz vs. 3.7 GHz from the Pentium), but its overclocking capability and revised 14 nm silicon should put it above it.

In addition to this, the iGPU integrated in this processor based on the RADEON Vega architecture is more powerful and faster than Intel's Gold Series Intel UHD 610. This does not mean that it assures us a remarkable gaming performance, since this processor is considerably lower than the 8 cores Vega of the Ryzen 3 3200G and much more than the 13 cores of the Ryzen 5 3400G. However, we will have acceptable benefits in 2D platform games, indies with similar characteristics and even the odd 3D game with advanced graphics from current generations with the properties at a minimum at a resolution of 720p.

Where we will obtain a performance more in accordance with its characteristics is in its video decoding capacity with graphic acceleration in Full HD resolution and even 4K at 60 FPS without any problem. Precisely for this reason it is an ideal processor for the HTPC on duty, a clear example is the ASRock DeskMini A300 with which it comes. If we prefer, we can also mount it with cheap components in an ITX chassis to have our low-cost multimedia station, type Nvidia Shield, Chrome Book or similar with Windows 10.

Combination with ASRock DeskMini A300

Now we come to see a little better the HTPC that has been included with the processor. The bundle of this ASRock DeskMini A300 has the following elements and accessories:

• ASRock DeskMini A300 Mini PC American Type Power Connector 120W Power Supply 2x Internal SATA Connectors for SSD / HDD Installation Screws Internal M.2 Wi-Fi Card Wi-Fi Antenna & Extender 65W CPU Heatsink AM-CD-ROM Instructions

As we have already advanced, we have tested this AMD Athlon in the peculiar test bench ASRock DeskMini A300, an HTPC unit with measures of 155 x 155 x 80 mm, in the form of a rectangular box made of sheet metal except the front, which to improve the aesthetic uses a hard plastic housing.

In this front panel we find a USB 2.0 port, 2 3.5 mm jack for audio and micro, and a USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C. An excellent versatility for its small size that can also be expanded on the left side with two extra USB 2.0 ports if we compare the corresponding hub.

Likewise, the I / O panel on the back will give us these ports:

• USB 2.0 USB 3.1 Gen1RJ-45D-sub (VGA) HDMI 2.0 DisplayPort 1.2 AC power port 2x antenna outputs

A connectivity in this case quite good when including up to three video outputs with the almost extinct VGA that perhaps could be useful to some user. In any case, the two video ports support 4K @ 60 FPS in order to give the most of the Radeon Vega 3 integrated GPU. Let's keep in mind that the antennas will not come pre-installed, but as accessories so that we ourselves can install the pack. Wi-Fi as we will see now.

Interior and hardware included

This ASRock DeskMini A300 has a standard Mini ITX size board with the AMD A300 chipset, which means that they do not have overclocking capacity, although we do not need it on a PC of these characteristics either. The socket of course is AM4, and it offers compatibility with Raven Ridge (our case), Picasso, Bristol Bridge architecture processors with up to 65W of TDP. Consequently, the chipset supports a maximum DDR4 SO-DIMM RAM capacity of 64 GB at 2933 MHz for Ryzen CPUs and 2400 MHz for A-series APUs.

The alienation system is made up of 5 phases with MOSFETS protected with a finned heatsink. 3 phases will be used for the V-Core, and the rest for SoC and peripherals. The external power supply has a capacity of 120W at 19V DC. At least in our case we have received the power connector in American configuration, keep that in mind.

Reviewing a little its internal connectivity and PCB we have as expansion slots for storage 2 M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4, something very very positive for a PC of these characteristics, since most only support SATA. In any case, the second slot supports only x4 with AMD Ryzen, while with APUs it will support x2. One of the slots can be seen on the main face, while the second is on the rear side, which is covered with a plate, so it was necessary to remove the PCB to connect the unit. But that's not all, because two SATA III connectors come in the bundle to install up to two 2.5 ”SSDs in the back tray.

We also have a third M.2 slot to connect a Wi-Fi card that we have thanks to the included expansion kit. This card is an Intel 3168NGW, which offers dual band although in 1 × 1 connections up to 433 Mbps in the 5 Ghz band. Independently, we could acquire, for example, an Intel 9560, which is typical of motherboards with Wi-Fi 5 until the arrival of Wi-Fi 6. Finally, as wired network connectivity we have a 1 Gbps Realtek RTL8111H card, which it's not bad at all.

Please note that CPU, RAM and storage units are not included.

For its part, the sound card is quite normal, taking basic, since a Realtek ALC233 codec has been used, staying far from the current ALC1220. In any case, we have the corresponding audio and micro Jack in the front area.

Test bench and performance test

Now let's check the stability of AMD Athlon 3000G processor in stock values. The ASRock DeskMini A300 team has stressed it with Prime 95 Custom and air cooling through the stock sink. Initially we will give the results only with the integrated graphics of the CPU itself. In a specific section we will install the APU on a board with overclocking capacity to see how far it can go.

To see the performance in overclocking we will change to the B450 platform with an AORUS B450 I Pro WiFi board, stock sink and 16 GB DDR4 @ 3600 MHz

Benchmarks (Synthetic tests)

We have tested the performance with the A300 platform and the memories configured at 3600 MHz, the maximum that the breadboard allows in a stable way for this 1st generation APU. The programs we have used will be the following:

• Cinebench R15 and R20Aida643DMARKVRMARKPCMark 8Blender RobotWprime 32M

We see that in the benchmarks this CPU is very close to its 200GE and 240GE brothers but in general we see slightly better results, both in the management of RAM memory and in the synthetic tests of Cinebench. However, it is not a substantial increase, in short, we have the same Raven Ridge architecture with optimization and overclocking capability.

Game testing

We have tested this set of hardware with the 6 games that we have been using for some time, in order to have a reference with the rest of the analyzed model, although they are much higher games in requirements than what this APU is capable of handling.

The results shown here are those obtained with the integrated graphics of the AMD Athlon 3000G and in a resolution of 1280x720p. This is the graphic configuration used:

• Shadow of the Tomb Rider, Bass, SMAA, DirectX 12 Far Cry 5, Bass, DirectX 12 DOOM, Medium, Open GL 4.5 Final Fantasy XV, Low, DirectX 12 Deus EX Mankind Divided, Bass, DirectX 12 Metro Exodus, Bass, DirectX 12

In this case we do see improvements in some titles even though we are in a MiniPC and not in our usual test bench. With 3600 MHz memory these figures could increase by 1 FPS, not much more. The margin for improvement, however, has generally been very small or non-existent, since they are titles with high requirements.

Consumption and temperatures

Continuing with this test bench, we will see what the consumption of the set has been, as well as its temperature. Not being in the same conditions as the rest of the CPUs tested by us, we should not buy it directly from them.

This optimization and the platform on which we are making it simply the best CPU in terms of consumption. But it is also the sensational temperatures. The ASRock DeskMini A300 also has the entire side open to the outside in the form of a metal mesh, so cooling is no problem for this CPU.

Overclocking capability

As we already anticipated, this processor has its multiplier unlocked, so we have used the B450 platform to see how far it can go. For this we have used the AMD Ryzen Master software and we have compared its performance with a benchmark in Cinebench and 3DMark.

As we have already advanced, the overclocking capacity is quite good for both the CPU and the GPU. In this unit that has touched us, we have managed to raise the frequency of the two physical cores to 4, 025 GHz @ 1.4 V in a stable way. While the Radeon Vega GPU has been increased to 1609 MHz with a voltage of 1.25 V. The results we have obtained with this new test bench are as follows:

Final words and conclusion about AMD Athlon 3000G and ASRock DeskMini A300

We are surprised in the first place that this new Athlon 3000G does not have the Picasso architecture inside, since ascending to Zen + with 12 nm would have been the most consistent for this APU. However, it is a CPU very similar to the 200GE, with 2C / 4T and a frequency of 3.5 GHz the same as for example the 240 GE.

The performance, however, increases in a general way in all the tests, something expected and positive for an even cheaper CPU than the previous ones. The 100 MHz rise of the iGPU Radeon Vega 3 clock is slightly noticeable in games, but the terrain of operation will be 720p and with very light graphics games.

Regarding the capacity and overclocking it is really good. And with Ryzen Master software we can do this practice without going to the BIOS. We have managed to get enough juice out of this silicon, reaching up to 4.00 GHz in its Cores without any problem and to 1.6 GHz in the GPU in a stable way.

We recommend reading the best processors on the market

Regarding the AHPC from ASRock, it is presented as an excellent option to mount a multimedia equipment that takes up little space and with a remarkable performance if we take into account the interesting hardware capacity of the board, notably superior to many of these equipments.

Keep in mind that we will have to buy the memories, CPU and storage. But as standard it supports up to 64 GB of RAM, current Ryzen CPUs and APUs, up to 4 storage units 2 SATA + 2 PCIe x4 and includes Wi-Fi card and CPU cooler.

We finish with the price of these two components that we have analyzed today. First off, the starting price of the AMD Athlon 3000G is expected to be $ 49 USD, and around € 52 possibly in Europe. And with respect to the ASRock DeskMini A300 we will have it available for only 163 €, that is taking into account that we must spend a few more euros on hard drive / SSD, RAM and CPU.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ BRUTAL PERFORMANCE / PRICE RATIO	- CPU WITH RAVEN RIDGE ARCHITECTURE
+ INCREASE IN PERFORMANCE ON THE 200GE	- IN THE CASE OF HTPC ASROCK: IT DOES NOT BRING NEITHER RAM MEMORY, NOR HDD NOR SERIAL CPU
+ EXCELLENT OVERCLOCKING CAPABILITY
+ MINIMUM CONSUMPTION AND TEMPERATURES
+ HTPC IS CHEAP AND HAS GREAT EXPANSION CAPACITY

The Professional Review team awards him the gold medal:

AMD Athlon 3000G

YIELD YIELD - 75%

MULTI-THREAD PERFORMANCE - 75%

OVERCLOCK - 85%

PRICE - 85%

80%