Top AMD Ryzen 3 Processors for Budget Gaming PC [Specs & Comparison]

AMD Ryzen 3 processors are the budget range processors in the latest Ryzen series from AMD. The mid-range series is Ryzen 5 and the high-end series of the Ryzen processors consists of Ryzen 7 and Ryzen Threadripper processors.  I have earlier covered Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 processors in this blog but here I am going to talk about the Ryzen 3 processors, which are the most affordable Ryzen processors and are great for building a budget gaming PC or eSports gaming PC with a mid-range or budget graphics card.

There are currently two processors in the AMD Ryzen 3 series lineup. They are AMD Ryzen 3 1300X and AMD Ryzen 3 1200. Both these are Quad-core processors (4-cores) and are built on the 14nm manufacturing process having Zen Core architecture. AMD Ryzen 3 1300X is the top-end Ryzen 3 CPU while AMD Ryzen 3 1200 sits behind it. Both Ryzen 3 processors are unlocked which means they can be overclocked to higher frequencies on AM4 Socket B350 and X370 chipset motherboards.

These Ryzen 3 processors come with 10 MB total cache (2MB L2 + 8MB L3), AMD Wraith Stealth cooler, support DDR4-2666 (dual channel), and are VR Ready. The major competitors of these AMD Ryzen 3 processors include the entry-level Intel Core i3-7100 and Intel Core i5-7400 Kaby Lake processors. Here in this post, I am going to list down the AMD Ryzen 3 processors with their specifications, features, and comparison to its rivals.

Must Read: Best Budget CPUs under 100 dollars for Gaming

AMD Ryzen 3 Processors Specifications and Details

Here are the specifications and details about the AMD Ryzen 3 1300X and AMD Ryzen 3 1200 processors based on the AMD AM4 Socket.

AMD Ryzen 3 1300X

AMD Ryzen 3 1300X is basically a cut-down version of the Ryzen 5 1500X, but with a lesser cache of 8MB and no multi-threading (only 4 threads). Ryzen 3 1300 is a quad-core processor that comes with a base clock of 3.5 GHz and a turbo or precision boost of 3.7 GHz. The processor comes with an 8MB L3 cache and 2MB L2 cache. Like its bigger brothers, it also comes with XFR (Extended Frequency Range) and it can boost its frequency to further +200 MHz and can reach clock as high as 3.9 GHz depending on the cooling or temperature headroom available.  

This is an unlocked processor and you can overclock it to higher frequencies using a good liquid CPU cooler. The main competitor of this processor is the Intel Core i5-7400 Kaby Lake (7^th Generation) processor which is also a quad-core processor and has the same TDP of 65W as Ryzen 3 1300X. The gaming performance of both AMD Ryzen 3 1300X and Intel Core i5-7400 are neck to neck with Ryzen 3 1300X leading in most of the benchmarks. Also, Ryzen 3 1300X is a lot cheaper than the Intel Core i5-7400. So if you ask me then I would certainly go for AMD Ryzen 3 1300X, especially for building a budget gaming PC with an entry-level to a mid-range graphics card.

Buy AMD Ryzen 3 1300X Processor

AMD Ryzen 3 1200

AMD Ryzen 3 1200 is the cheapest Ryzen processor that you can get. It is also a quad-core processor and has got the base frequency of 3.1 GHz and a boost frequency of 3.4 GHz. It comes with XFR up to +50 MHz and has got 8MB L3 cache and 2MB L2 cache.

The main competitor of this Ryzen 3 processor is the Intel Core i3-7100 which has a lower power consumption of 51W as opposed to 65W of Ryzen 3 1200. Intel Core i3-7100 is basically a dual-core processor but it has got Intel Hyper-threading technology and can execute 4 threads at once, and can perform as a quad-core processor. Again the gaming performance of AMD Ryzen 1200 and Intel Core i3-7100 is almost the same but Ryzen 3 1200 is ahead in most gaming benchmarks with slightly higher margins. The advantage of Intel Core i3-7100 is in terms of higher clock frequency and lower power consumption but I think AMD Ryzen 3 1200 is overall a better product to go with.   

Buy AMD Ryzen 3 1200 Processor

Final Words

AMD is certainly giving Intel a tough fight whether it is in the high-end processor department with its Ryzen Threadripper or in the budget category segment with AMD Ryzen 3 processors, which according to me pack a lot of performance for the price. Also, they offer better value for money compared to their Intel counterparts. If you have any queries or doubts then feel free to ask me by leaving a comment below.