Meet the new Ryzen 3 3100, set to cost just $100, it features 4 cores, 8 threads and clocks between 3.6 and 3.9 GHz depending on the workload. For such an affordable processor it also features a rather large 18MB of cache. This part is rated for a 65 watt TDP and so you get the Wraith Stealth cooler, a nice addition at this price point. Then we have the Ryzen 3 3300X which costs $120. It's also a 4 core, 8 thread part, with the same cache, TDP and box cooler. The core clocks are a bit higher, between 3.8 and 4.3 GHz. Now you might think a 10% increase in clock frequency is a bit weak for a 20% increase in price, but there’s more to it. The R3 3100 and 3300X feature a different topology. In other words, they are arranged differently within the core complex die.

Looking at gaming results from 7 games, here we see that the 3300X is comparable to the 2700X on average and the older Core i7-7700K CPU. It was also 4% faster than the 9400F for the average frame rate, but 13% faster when comparing 1% lows. When compared to the inexpensive 1600 AF you’re looking at a 16% boost on average.

The AMD Ryzen 3 3100 has its multiplier unlocked, which means you are free to overclock it as you like—unlike Intel's non-K CPUs.

Overclocking was super easy, and we managed significant gains that greatly exceed what the default configuration is able to achieve. This is a first for Zen 2 because AMD usually clocks their processors right up to the maximum out of the box with clever boosting algorithms that pretty much nullify any manual overclocking potential. At a very reasonable 1.25 V, the maximum CPU overclock was 4350 MHz. Higher voltage and AIO watercooling made 4.4 GHz mostly stable, but not fully.

In application performance, the Ryzen 3 3100 does very well, beating all the Celerons, Pentiums, and i3 processors Intel has to offer. It roughly matches the Core i5-8400 in performance and ends up 5% behind the 9400F. Compared to AMD's first-generation Ryzen, the 3100 beats the mid-range Ryzen 5 1600 and is almost as fast as the Zen+ based Ryzen 5 2600—pretty impressive for the lowest-priced new member of the Ryzen 3000 family. Of course, there are faster processors on the market, with more cores and threads. For example, the Ryzen 5 3600 is 32% faster, and Intel's Core i5-9600 is 15% quicker. Overall, the Ryzen 3 3100 is an excellent choice for a home or office PC that can handle any consumer or productivity workload you throw at it. Gaming performance of the Ryzen 3 3100 is very decent, too, considering its price point. Gaming performance at 1080p matches the Ryzen 7 1700X and Ryzen 7 2600—these were powerful processors back in the day, which shows how much progress AMD has made with Zen 2.

At stock settings, the Ryzen 3 3300X offered nearly identical gaming performance (based on a geometric mean of our benchmark suite) to the Ryzen 5 3600, and actually squeaked past it in our 99th percentile measurements. If you're interested solely in gaming, the Ryzen 3 3300X takes the shine off of purchasing the Ryzen 5 3600, even though the 3600's twelve threads would come in handy for multi-tasking, streaming, and/or recording.