AMD hints at entry-level Ryzen 3 lineup with Ryzen Pro announcement

Why it matters to you

If you’ve been waiting to build an entry-level desktop to see what low-end CPU options will be available, you now have a hint as to what’s coming.

AMD’s Ryzen lineup has so far posed a significant price-performance challenge to Intel’s Core processors, at least as far as the mid-range and high-end units are concerned. We know that the Ryzen Threadripper chip will compete at the highest end, but we do not yet have any official information on the low-end Ryzen 3 chips that will be used in entry-level systems.

However, AMD released information on its upcoming Ryzen Pro CPUs that are aimed at professional workstations with the most demanding reliability and security needs, and in doing so the company might have dropped a hint as to Ryzen 3’s makeup. As Anandtech notes, the Ryzen Pro 5 and 7 chips sport the same specifications as their non-Pro counterparts, and so it is entirely possible that the Ryzen 3 will follow suit.

As a reminder, here are the specifications for Ryzen Pro:

Product Line
Model
Cores
Threads
Boost Clock (GHz)
Base Clock (GHz)
TDP (Watts)
Ryzen 7 Pro
1700X
8
16
3.8
3.4
95
Ryzen 7 Pro
1700
8
16
3.7
3.0
65
Ryzen 5 Pro
1600
6
12
3.6
3.2
65
Ryzen 5 Pro
1500
4
8
3.7
3.5
65
Ryzen 3 Pro
1300
4
4
3.7
3.5
65
Ryzen 3 Pro
1200
4
4
3.4
3.1
65

While there are fewer Ryzen Pro configurations than there are standard Ryzen options, and so other Ryzen 3 models are likely, the close correlation of the known CPUs likely means we know what the low-end Ryzen lineup should look like. If so, then we’re going to see entry-level AMD systems that leverage additional cores but bypass hyperthreading.

If the correlation holds true, then the low to mid-range Ryzen lineup would look like this:

Model
Cores
Threads
Boost Clock (GHz)
Base Clock (GHz)
TDP (Watts)
Price
Ryzen 5 1600X
6
12
4.0
3.6
95
$249
Ryzen 5 1600
6
12
3.6
3.2
65
$219
Ryzen 5 1500X
4
8
3.7
3.5
65
$189
Ryzen 5 1400
4
8
3.4
3.2
65
$169
Ryzen 3 1300
4
4
3.7
3.5
65
TBD
Ryzen 3 1200
4
4
3.4
3.1
65
TBD

Intel’s Core i3 options max out at two cores and also do not offer hyperthreading. That means that AMD’s Ryzen 3 could be a competitive option for anyone building a low-end system where multiple cores will be advantageous for productivity applications like video editing. Whether Intel or AMD will reign supreme in low-end gaming systems remains to be seen.

This is not official news, of course, and we still have no pricing or availability information on Ryzen 3. However, it’s reasonable to assume that at least now we have an idea of what the new AMD low-end will look like, which should be beneficial for anyone planning to build an entry-level system in the next several months.