REVIEW: AMD Athlon 200GE with integrated Radeon Vega GPU

AMD Athlon 200GE is the new AMD APU that we present today in our review, a model that has Zen CPU cores and a powerful Radeon Vega 3 GPU integrated at a really good price, an ideal complement to this sector to accompany the powerful desktop APU Ryzen 5 2400G and Ryzen 3 2200G or the models integrated in laptops like the Ryzen 5 2500U that we saw in our reviews. A new low-end processor that competes against the Intel Pentium family in the same sector, but as we will see, it outperforms its integrated graphics GPU. This new APU has a consumption of only 35W TPD what has ideal lace for low power desktops, HTPC mounting with very interesting multimedia features or even in a passive system as we will see in another future review on that aspect. Let’s see what this new low-cost AMD APU offers us and how it enters competition with the same Intel range.

PRODUCT DETAILS

Specifications

The main difference between this new AMD Athlon 200GE and desktop models AMD Ryzen 5 2400G and Ryzen 3 2200G is in the number of ZEN processors that this case is only two although we have four threads, this model does not allow Overclock. In the graphic section as we see the Radeon Vega 3 GPU has basic specifications reducing the number of Stream processors and their maximum speed. At RAM level we stay at 2677 MHz but we can mount 3200MHz and improve performance somewhat.

Undoubtedly all these reductions in the specifications regarding the desktop APU are reflected in its consumption that remains in only 35W TPD, a really low figure for the power that obtain as we can see in our tests. A value lower than the 45-65W cTPD of the desktop APU’s, however is higher than that of APU intended for laptops such as the Ryzen 5 2500U that has a consumption of 12-25W cTPD oriented to conserve battery power at the expense of a lower performance in demanding scenarios.

START UP

Testing hardware

We connect all the components of the test platform of the new AMD athlon APU without complications, as we have seen the Socket is still the AM4 but we must bear in mind that we must have an updated BIOS before installing the processor. The RAM if we are going to orientate ourselves to games has to be as fast as possible since the integrated Vega GPU will make use of it.

To assemble the set we have opted for the following elements:

System and user experience

We boot up the AMD Athlon 200GE in our test hardware with the Windows 10 Home 64bit system, we do not have the slightest detection problem with the ASRock board that is already correctly updated at the BIOS level. The user environment moves very smoothly and we can run the applications without problems, apart from our amount of RAM, the processor is quick to see applications such as browsing the internet, playing any type of 1080p or 4K video and running applications from design to a certain point of complexity in the projects, as is logical.

• OS Version installed: Windows 10 Home (1803)
• Tutorials: Control the mini PC with your Smartphone Android or iOS

Support and other operating systems

From the AMD website we can download the necessary drivers for the Radeon Vega chipset and GPU, this APU uses the normal drivers that AMD is updating, luckily, something that does not happen with the integrated solutions for laptops as we have seen in our review of a HP Envy x360 notebook with Ryzen 5 2500U.

• Other OS: LibreELEC for PC compatible / Ubuntu compatible

HARDWARE TEST

Storage, RAM and Ports

We perform speed tests on the new AMD Athlon 200GE APU using a M.2 NVMe Samsung EVO 960 disk. As we see the results are correct and we obtain the maximum speed of the storage devices, we did not notice any loss of performance in this aspect.

• Tutorials: Download, install or update Windows 10 from a USB drive / Migrate Windows from one disk to another

For the testing of this new AMD Athlon 200GE APU we have 16 GB of GSkill Flare X DDR4 3200MHz memory configured in Dual Channel, the figures we have as we can see remain in correct values and equal to the higher Ryzen APU. The speed in Dual Channel as we see in the values are correct and we get to 3200 MHz, a speed that is critical to get the maximum performance to the integrated Vega GPU, an important point since we can not overclock the CPU.

Electric consumption, temperature and noise

We checked the consumption of the new AMD Athlon 200GE, thanks to the architecture at 14nm+ FinFET and the integrated specifications have an excellent consumption of only 35W TPD. As we can see with our test hardware with the whole set assembled and in stage of maximum performance we only reach 69.3W, during a gameplay for example the power consumption stays at 50 / 60W.

In our test we have checked that the basic fan included by default behaves correctly even at acoustic level, but we recommend to mount a specialized brand that is quieter. Soon we will publish an article where we will test this APU with a fanless cooling system to see results using the AMD APU’s.

• Measuring temperature: 24ºC.
• External temperature: 45ºC maximum at the motherboard.
• Noise: 42 db / 2600 rpm.
• We have a special article with a fanless cooler using this APU, take a look!

We perform several types of tests to check the performance in each use scenario, with this data we can make an idea of the overall real performance that the system will have during its useful life.

• Extreme performance: Temperature 48ºC Max. / CPU 3.16 GHz / Without thermal throlling.
• Performance in games: LOL 45ºC / CPU 3.16 GHz media.

PERFORMANCE TEST

Processor

The new AMD Athlon 200GE APU with two ZEN CPU cores and four threads running at 3.16GHz, has a Radeon Vega 3 GPU with a maximum speed of 1GHz. As we can see the performance as it is logical is below the powerful APU AMD Ryzen 5 2400G and Ryzen 3 2200G, we can also compare it with the APU v integrated in the plates of several laptops. The overall performance is excellent, we must bear in mind that we are before a processor with a consumption of only 35W TPD for a price of $60, no doubt a rival for the low-end models of Intel. A product that for price and performance as we see humiliates the Intel Pentium G4560 that has a much higher price.

• If you want to know some of the compared models you can read our detailed reviews in this link.

The Cinebench test reflects well the raw performance of this processor, as we see the CPU is at the level of a Pentium G4560 especially in multitasking, the GPU already begins to give us figures of its superiority.

If we pass the Geekbench test we find figures very similar to the previous test which gives us a confirmation of those figures, we have similar results in CPU and good GPU level.

With the 3DMark test we can already see how this APU is unchecked from the Intel Integrated GPU and it is in good position with respect to its desktop APU taking into account the consumption and the cut of specifications.

At the level of general use PCMark gives us some figures for the use of desktop where we see a combined results between the use of the CPU and the GPU, the values reflect a correct performance for that use.

Games

We passed our performance tests in games on the AMD Athlon 200GE, the results are pretty good and the Radeon Vega 3 GPU offers us pretty good performance in many titles that are totally impossible to play on Intel processors with integrated HD Graphics GPU. As we can see in the results we can in the most powerful titles we can get correct frame rates if we stay in 720p resolutions, in the simplest titles we can use 1080p without problems, the emulators are also feasible but at the most we stayed in some simple titles of Wii

• Low settings, without VSync, 720p minimum
• AMD GPU and NVIDIA 1080p resolution if it is possible to exceed 30fps

With the AMD Athlon 200GE we have performed a performance test with the game League of legends (LOL) which is quite lightweight and we can play at 89fps with 1080p resolution, DOTA 2 is more demanding and we normally have 10fps less, in the following video os you can make an idea of how it would be played in this mini PC. We did a special test with CS: GO and we see that we were at 59fps playing 1080p, with the popular title Fortnite we stayed at 28fps if we played at 1080p but down to 720p we reached 53fps.

Overclock

The new Athlon 3 200GE APU does not allow overclocking since it is blocked, we may see new models of this family soon with that capacity, but for now we can only play with the speed of the RAM we recommend adquire the best possible.

VIDEO AND AUDIO TESTS

Playback test

At the level of video playback in the  new APU AMD Athlon 200GE, it has an integrated Radeon Vega 3 GPU that has a VPU identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 2400G and Ryzen 3 2200G models. We have hardware support for the HVEC codec and for VP9, in this processor we have support for 10bit color video, we also have HDR compatibility although on our screen we had to try several settings until we reached the appropriate screen mode to activate this function in Windows.

• Ports: HDMI 2.0a, Freesync and DP 1.4 output support with 4K @ 60fps resolutions.
• Compatibility: HVEC with good performance / correct VP9 in P2 format / HDR settings depend on each monitor / TV.
• Audio: The audio depends on the sound hardware of the chosen motherboard.
• Configuration tutorial: Playback 4K videos with HEVC and VP9 seamlessly on Android and Windows
• If we are interested we can use KODI with add-ons or we can test the LibreELEC operating system for PC

Test results

Streaming services

We perform performance tests on the Alfawise T1 mini PC in the most popular streaming services such as Youtube, Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime Video and others with their native apps or using the most compatible browser. For now the Netflix service is limited to FullHD quality since it does not have DRM Playready 3.0 integrated in its drivers, something that seems to be in the process of being solved and that we will follow in detail to inform you.

• Guide Netflix in HD or 4K on PC
• Guide Amazon Prime Video on PC

CONCLUSIONS

Score

Opinion

After analyzing the new AMD Athlon 200GE APU, we can only say that this is a really interesting product, for its price it seems a really attractive option if we want to set up an economical PC, we can navigate, play multimedia or use editing applications to good level. This model allows us to play thanks to its Radeon Vega 3 GPU integrated to quite powerful games by adjusting them in detail and with resolutions between 720 and 1080p. A GPU that also allows us to play 4K video without problems in the most modern formats.

This new AMD Athlon 200GE with a consumption of only 35W TPD as we seen has enought with the small fan that comes as standard, soon we will see in operation with a fanless heatsink that surely allows us to use it in total silence. To all these positive points we must add that it has a really competitive price because for only $60 we can buy it, a price that leaves far behind its competition from Intel with the weak integrated Intel HD GPU, it is a pity that the RAM are so expensive right now. In general, as we see an excellent product for those looking for a solution with integrated GPU quite competent for low / medium settings game, HTPC or desktop computer at a price breaker.

WHERE TO BUY

AMD Athlon 200GE _

9

POWER

8.5/10

THERMALS

9.5/10

GPU

9.5/10

SUPPORT

8.0/10

PRICE

9.5/10

Pros

• Good thermals
• Fine for video playback
• Efficient Radeon Vega 3 GPU
• AMD compatible
• Price breaker

Cons

• No overclock