How Much Does it Cost?
Both of these CPUs are launching from today, but of course, we have to consider the lockdown issues with stock. Most retailers should have stock, but keep in mind it may be sporadic and the launch may be staggered in some regions. Also, shipping times may be very different, but I guess we’re all getting used to such things (to some degree). The Ryzen 3 3100 is the most affordable of the bunch, costing just £99.99 in the UK. Meanwhile, the Ryzen 3 3300X is showing at just £114.99 in the UK. In the US you can find them for $99 and $120 respectively.
Overview
It seems AMD is out to disrupt the affordable CPU market, and to some extent, it has worked. The CPUs are great, I have absolutely no issues there. However, I think the 3300X is the one that’s going to get all the glory. The 3100 is fantastic in its own right and on any other day, it would be getting some more praise. However, the 3300X is not that much expensive, but it is clearly a better CPU. The 3100 is very close, but for the sake of £15, I can’t see the point of it if I’m brutally honest. I suspect the price range may widen in the coming months though, who knows.
Cores
All cores are not created equally I guess. It seems the 3100 uses 2 cores per CCX, and it has two of them. Technically that means it can be made from higher end CPUs that don’t meet specifications, say, a 6 core model which could then have some cores disabled to make a 3100. We’ve seen that as an effective method in the past for CPU markets. However, the 3300X is pretty much bespoke with a single 4-core CCX in there, and it does reap the benefits of that with the lower latency and shared cache.
What’s amazing is that the single core performance is astonishing. They may have fewer cores than the AMD flagships, but they’re broadly the same cores. That’s enough to give even some of the best Intel CPUs a thrashing on single-core performance.
Gaming & Beyond
I’m pleasantly surprised with the gaming performance of both of these CPUs. The per-core performance is great, and the fact that just about every game likes a quad-core configuration means these CPUs performance well across the board. They’ll pair up with affordable GPU and high-end GPUs quite comfortably. Of course, I still think the 3300X is the one to go for if you’re purely buying these for gaming.
Should I Buy One?
There are a LOT of great AMD options out there right now. The older generation CPU prices are dropping steadily and are very tempting. That being said, the performance and price of the new CPUs is fantastic and I strongly recommend either of these CPUs, albeit, I’m leaning heavier towards the 3300X. With them offering support for PCIe Gen 4 on newer chipset motherboards, they’re doing a lot more than what Intel are offering at this price range right now.
