Athlon 200GE: Cheap Zen With Vega Graphics

AMD is announcing its new $55 processor with integrated graphics, designed to sit under the Ryzen 5 2200G.

For anyone looking at a low cost system, AMD is changing what Athlon stands for – in previous generations, Athlon was for a processor that has its integrated graphics disabled. Now AMD is using it in the same way that Intel uses the Pentium or Celeron brands: for low cost, high volume products. This new part is designed to be a more cost-effective solution for users that need both a processor and graphics in a single system.

The Athlon 200GE is a dual core processor with simultaneous multi-threading, and no turbo: it will run at 3.2 GHz at all times. The TDP is the biggest adjustment, with AMD offering a low-cost low-power 35W product. The three Vega compute units will be plenty for all office tasks and some light gaming. However that $55 price point means that AMD believes it will be competing with products like the Pentium G4560.

AMD states that the new part will offer 4K display output (due to the integrated Vega graphics), native USB 3.1 support, as well as NVMe SSD support. The processor is AM4 socket compatible, which means that it can be enabled for at least DRAM overclocking (AMD confirmed that the CPU is locked for frequency overclocking)

AMD 'Raven Ridge' Ryzen APU

Last year, AMD launched the AM4-socket X370, B350, A320, and A300 platforms for Ryzen CPUs. These chipsets have onboard video outputs, but AMD hasn’t released any CPU that can utilize them yet. That’s changing very soon with the release of AMD’s Ryzen-based APUs, known as Raven Ridge. Launching February 12, the Ryzen 2400G and 2200G combine a four-core, eight-thread CPU with integrated graphics based on AMD’s Vega architecture.

AMD's first Raven Ridge Desktop APUs	Ryzen 5 2400G With Radeon RX Vega 11 Graphics	Ryzen 3 2200G With Radeon Vega 8 Graphics
Cores Threads	4/8	4/4
Base Clock (GHz)	3.6	3.5
Max Boost Clock (GHz)	3.9	3.7
Graphics Compute Units	11	8
Stream Processors	704	512
Max GPU Clock (MHz)	1250	1100
L2/L3 Cache (MB)	6	6
Memory Speed	DDR4-2933	DDR4-2933
Memory Channels	Dual Channel	Dual Channel
TDP	65W	65W
cTDP (Watts)	45-65W	45-65W
Price	$169	$99

The Raven Ridge processors use the Infinity Fabric to connect the single four-core CCX (Core Complex) and the Vega graphics cores, and as we've seen demonstrated time and again, increasing the memory frequency also improves the Infinity Fabric's frequency. That leads to improved performance in gaming, which is a good fit for a processor that features Vega graphics cores.

The APUs drop into existing AM4 motherboards and the integrated Vega graphics will use the display outputs. AMD also have demonstrated overclocking both the CPU and GPU during its pre-CES event, so there is room for tuning. The bundled Wraith Stealth cooler should also provide room for overclocking the 65W processors.