AMD Athlon 200GE

The AMD Athlon 200GE is a 2-core, 4-thread desktop processor built on the Zen architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries and released on September 5, 2018. It runs at a fixed 3.20 GHz base clock with no boost capability, draws a 35W TDP, and is mounted on the AMD Socket AM4. Benchmark data shows an average score of 1261 across all tests, placing it at the 35th percentile among all tracked CPUs. Its nearest rivals cluster tightly around this figure, with the Athlon holding a 0.1% edge over three of them and trailing the fourth by 0.4%. With integrated Radeon Vega 3 graphics, this part targets entry-point desktop builds.

How It Compares

The Intel Core i3-7100T posts an average score of 1260, making the Athlon 200GE 0.1% faster on aggregate. This is effectively a statistical tie — the two chips land within a rounding error of each other, meaning a buyer choosing between them would see no meaningful average performance difference in the database's benchmark suite.

The Intel Core i7-3615QM also averages 1260, with the Athlon again 0.1% ahead. This rival chip lands at the same aggregate score, and the Athlon's 4 threads allow it to match that level of throughput in the tracked benchmarks. The delta is negligible in real-world terms.

The Intel Core i5-3570K matches the same 1260 average, and the Athlon holds a 0.1% edge. The 2-core/4-thread Athlon keeps pace with this rival within a rounding error, demonstrating that the Zen architecture's efficiency can close the gap with a chip that posts a nearly identical aggregate score.

The Intel Core i5-4670T is the only rival that edges out the Athlon, scoring 1266 — a 0.4% advantage. This is still within benchmark variance, but it makes the i5-4670T the strongest competitor in this cluster. The Athlon's 1261 average trails by just 5 points.

Who Should Consider It

The Athlon 200GE is suited for users building a low-power desktop for everyday tasks. Office productivity, web browsing, document editing, and light multitasking all fall within its capabilities. The 2 cores and 4 threads at 3.20 GHz provide responsive single-threaded performance, and the integrated Radeon Vega 3 GPU eliminates the need for a discrete graphics card in basic builds.

For gaming, the chip is limited. The Radeon Vega 3 iGPU can handle older or less demanding titles at modest settings, and the CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 3479 suggests it can keep up with low-end gaming workloads. However, the 35th percentile ranking makes it clear that this is not a high-performance part for modern AAA titles.

Content creation is not a primary use case. The 2-core/4-thread layout and 4 MB shared L3 cache will bottleneck heavy rendering, video encoding, or large compilation tasks. The Geekbench multi-core score of 1912 reflects this constraint. Users who need sustained multi-threaded throughput should look at higher-tier parts.

The 35W TDP makes the 200GE attractive for small-form-factor builds, home servers, or always-on systems where low power draw and quiet operation are priorities. Its active production status means it remains available for new builds, and the fixed 3.20 GHz clock keeps behavior predictable.

Power and Thermals

The 35W TDP places the Athlon 200GE in a low-power class. This is a modest thermal envelope that a simple air cooler — including compact low-profile designs — can handle without difficulty. Because the chip has no boost clock, the 3.20 GHz base clock is also the maximum sustained frequency, which keeps power draw flat and predictable under load. The 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries contributes to the efficient thermal profile. System builders have broad freedom in cooling selection, from stock coolers to passive setups in well-ventilated cases. The lack of a boost mechanism also means no thermal spikes from frequency jumps, simplifying cooling requirements.

Architecture and Design

The Athlon 200GE is built on the Zen architecture, with the codename Zen (Raven Ridge) indicating the integrated graphics variant. The 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries produces a die of 209.8 mm² containing 4,950 million transistors. The core layout consists of 2 physical cores with simultaneous multithreading, yielding 4 threads. The cache hierarchy includes 96 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 4 MB of shared L3. Memory support is dual-channel DDR4 with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s; ECC memory is not supported. PCIe connectivity is Gen 3 with 8 CPU lanes. The integrated GPU is the Radeon Vega 3. The multiplier is locked, so overclocking is not an option. The part number is YD200GC6M20FB.

Benchmark Performance

The Athlon 200GE's benchmark results span multiple Cinebench generations and Geekbench. In Cinebench R15 multi-core, it scores 350. In Cinebench R20, it scores 1461 multi-core and 206 single-core. In Cinebench R23, it scores 3479 multi-core and 491 single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 1912 multi-core and 925 single-core.

The average benchmark score across all tests is 1261, placing the chip at the 35th percentile of all CPUs in the database. Against its nearest rivals, the deltas are minimal: 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i3-7100T (1260), 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-3615QM (1260), 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i5-3570K (1260), and 0.4% behind the Intel Core i5-4670T (1266).

The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 3479 is the chip's strongest multi-threaded result, while the single-core score of 491 reflects the fixed 3.20 GHz clock. The Geekbench multi-core score of 1912 is roughly double the single-core 925, indicating effective scaling across the 2 cores with SMT. The R20 results — 1461 multi-core and 206 single-core — follow the same pattern, with the multi-threaded figure substantially exceeding the single-threaded one.

FAQ

Q: Does the Athlon 200GE include integrated graphics?

A: Yes, it features Radeon Vega 3 integrated graphics.

Q: What is the launch MSRP?

A: The launch MSRP is $55.

Q: What memory configuration does it support?

A: Dual-channel DDR4 with 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Can the multiplier be unlocked for overclocking?

A: No, the multiplier is locked.

Q: Does it support ECC memory?

A: No, ECC memory is not supported.

Q: What socket does this processor use?

A: AMD Socket AM4.

Q: When was it released?

A: September 5, 2018.

Single-Thread vs Multi-Thread Behavior

The single-thread scores across benchmarks — Cinebench R23 single-core 491, Cinebench R20 single-core 206, and Geekbench single-core 925 — all reflect the fixed 3.20 GHz clock. The absence of a boost clock means single-threaded performance is constant and cannot scale upward under light load. This places the chip at a disadvantage in workloads that depend on peak single-core frequency, since there is no headroom beyond the base clock.

The multi-thread scores — Cinebench R23 multi-core 3479, Cinebench R20 multi-core 1461, Geekbench multi-core 1912 — demonstrate the aggregate throughput of the 4 threads. The Geekbench multi-core figure of 1912 is roughly double the single-core 925, showing near-linear scaling from the 2 physical cores with SMT. In Cinebench R23, the multi-core score of 3479 is substantially higher than the single-core 491, though the scaling pattern varies across benchmark generations.

For real workloads, this split means the Athlon 200GE handles lightly threaded tasks — such as web browsing, office applications, and legacy games — with adequate responsiveness. Multi-threaded workloads see the expected gains from 4 threads, but the 2-core physical layout remains the ceiling. Users running heavily threaded applications will find the chip constrained, as the 35th percentile ranking indicates. The fixed clock also means the single-threaded experience is consistent, with no burst variability — a benefit for predictable performance in time-sensitive tasks.