AMD Q4: 16-core Ryzen 9 3950X, Threadripper Up To 32-Core 3970X, Coming November 25th
by Dr. Ian Cutress on November 7, 2019 9:00 AM ESTAMD Athlon 3000G: Aligning Names and Numbers at $49
The odd-one out from today’s announcement is a processor at the other end of the portfolio. To put it into context, if a user wants to jump on board the 7nm and Zen 2 bandwagon, the entry price point is $199 for the Ryzen 5 3600. Below that we have older hardware based on Zen 1, and AMD’s APU line of processors featuring integrated graphics. The new Athlon 3000G sits firmly in this category, and aims to be a very interesting processor indeed.
The Athlon 3000G is a 35W dual core Zen+ processor with 3 compute units of Vega graphics, built on 12nm and falls in the Picasso family of hardware. It doesn’t have any turbo, but does have a nominal frequency of 3.5 GHz on the CPU and 1100 MHz on the GPU. Supported memory speeds are DDR4-2933 and it can support up to 64 GB. It will come bundled with AMD’s 65W near-silent stock cooler, which is absolutely overkill for this product.
If a dual core Zen+ Picasso APU sounds familiar, it’s because AMD already has a processor that fits the bill: the AMD Athlon 300GE. Following previous convention, I would have expected AMD to call this new processor the 320GE, as it has +100 MHz more on the CPU. However, AMD are changing the naming for two reasons.
First, to align it more with the Ryzen family. With the Ryzen 3000 series starting with the Ryzen 3 3200G for the 65W Zen+ APUs, moving into the Ryzen 5 3600 for the 65 W desktop Zen 2 CPUs, each of these are four digits plus a letter. By moving to 3000G, it allows AMD to equate the two families together (even if there’s still an APU/desktop CPU microarchitecture mismatch).
| AMD AM4 APU List | ||||||
| AnandTech | Cores Threads |
Base Freq |
Turbo Freq |
Vega CUs |
TDP | Price |
| 12nm Zen+ - Picasso | ||||||
| Ryzen 5 3400G | 4 / 8 | 3700 | 4200 | 11 | 65 W | $149 |
| Ryzen 3 3200G | 4 / 4 | 3600 | 4000 | 8 | 65 W | $99 |
| Athlon 3000G | 2 / 4 | 3500 | - | 3 | 35 W | $49 |
| Athlon Pro 300GE | 2 / 4 | 3400 | - | 3 | 35 W | - |
| 14nm Zen - Raven Ridge | ||||||
| Ryzen 5 2400G | 4 / 8 | 3600 | 3900 | 11 | 65 W | $169 |
| Ryzen 5 2400GE | 4 / 8 | 3200 | 3800 | 11 | 35 W | - |
| Ryzen 3 2200G | 4 / 4 | 3500 | 3700 | 8 | 65 W | $99 |
| Ryzen 3 2200GE | 4 / 4 | 3200 | 3600 | 8 | 35 W | - |
| Athlon 240GE | 2 / 4 | 3500 | - | 3 | 35 W | $75 |
| Athlon 220GE | 2 / 4 | 3400 | - | 3 | 35 W | $65 |
| Athlon 200GE | 2 / 4 | 3200 | - | 3 | 35 W | $55 |
The other aspect is that the Athlon 3000G is also unlocked. AMD touts the 3000G as the first AM4 Athlon that is fully unlocked for overclocking, allowing users to adjust the CPU multiplier as high as their dreams desire (or to the limits of the silicon). As AMD is pairing the CPU with its 65W cooler, that means a lot of users, as long as the motherboard supports overclocking, should be able to push their CPU a bit higher. AMD stated that the +400 MHz in the slide deck for our briefing would represent a ‘typical’ overclock for an end-user, but then clarified they did use a high-end cooler to achieve that value. Nonetheless, an unlocked $49 chip with a cooler than can handle double the TDP could be exciting for users wanting to test their overclocking skills.
The other feather in AMD’s cap for this new chip is that it competes against Intel’s Celeron and Pentium desktop processors. Given the high demand for Intel's high-end 14nm products, the Pentium and Celeron parts have been available in relatively low in volumes as they don’t make as much money, especially when high-end demand is high. In that instance, AMD has the advantage as the company stated that there will be plenty of Athlon silicon to go around.
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Death666Angel - Thursday, November 7, 2019 - link
Do you mean Intel has had overlapping HEDT and mainstream CPUs as in they had the same core counts? Sure, AMD had that as well, 8C TR is a thing after all. Or do you mean Intel had the same name for HEDT and mainstream CPUs before? Because a 16 core TR3 would fit in the 3950X naming scheme that is now taken up by the AM4 equivalent.And 3955X would look a bit messy to me. :Dpkv - Friday, November 8, 2019 - link
meant the former; similarly powerful cpus, one for mainstream, the other for HEDT.Kjella - Thursday, November 7, 2019 - link
I've no doubt there'll be a 16 core TR3, they'd get paid very well for a 4+4+4+4 dud chip combo but they probably want to clear the first wave of people that won't wait first. I'm thinking 2-3 months out like February or so, that's just me looking into the crystal ball though.pkv - Friday, November 8, 2019 - link
there's an interview of an amd senior technical marketing manager in pcworld https://www.pcworld.com/article/3305945/watch-the-... ; the absence of 16c was one of the first questions. He answered the absence of 16c is deliberate, in order to have a clear boundary between mainstream and HEDT. So the prospects of having in a few months 16c on TR40x are nil atm.AbRASiON - Thursday, November 7, 2019 - link
AMD *STILL* continues to ignore business desktops and home performance enthusiasts who don't game.Where is the higher performance processors with extreemely basic graphics/ Where's the 3000G with 6 cores?
Some people just want a 6 core Ryzen but a very very simple GPU for basic Windows tasks / video.
Intel can do it with the 8400.
Death666Angel - Thursday, November 7, 2019 - link
When Zen2 enters APUs you will likely get your wish.But what is wrong with just getting a 1030 GT?
AbRASiON - Thursday, November 7, 2019 - link
1030 GT is a point of failure, heat, cost, PCI slot.Intel produce perfectly good graphics for my need (and 500 users at my place of work) - for "free"
AMD NEED to produce processors with 6 to 8 cores, decent computing power and a very very VERY simple GPU.
I'm happy with iGPU levels, as it stands, AMD do not have a product for me, it's sad.
Korguz - Thursday, November 7, 2019 - link
as Death666Angel said.. wait till amd migrates the zen 2 core over to their APU's. and you will be able to get what you are looking forphoenix_rizzen - Friday, November 8, 2019 - link
B450-based motherboard, Ryzen 5 2600 or 3600 CPU, and an Nvidia 730 GPU makes for a great, silent office computer. And gives you triple-monitor support to boot. Or an AMD Radeon Pro Wx 3100 or 3200, which gives you even better multi-monitor support. Both are fanless. Add NVMe and 16 GB of RAM and you have a great, little, silent workstation.While it would be nice to have more than 4 cores in an APU, it will be another year or so before that's available from AMD. Really hoping Zen2 chiplet design leads to 4-, 6-, and 8-core APUs.
scineram - Friday, November 8, 2019 - link
No.