You either get Intel Celeron or AMD Athlon CPU on all budget laptops.
The AMD Athlon is very popular and seems like a company’s favorite CPU on entry-level laptops.
But a few questions that might bother you are:
- Is AMD Athlon good for everyday use?
- Is AMD Athlon good for students?
- Is AMD Athlon good for gaming?
- And last, should you buy a laptop with an AMD Athlon CPU?
After using HP 14s, which has AMD Athlon Silver 3050U CPU, here is our take on the performance of this CPU.
How powerful is the Desktop version?
Before we head to the mobile or laptop version of AMD Athlon, let us give you an idea of how powerful the desktop version of this CPU is.
| CPU Name | AMD Athlon 3000G (Desktop) |
|---|---|
| Mfg Process | 14nm |
| Cores | 2 |
| Threads | 4 |
| Base Frequency | 3.50 GHz |
| Max Frequency | Not mentioned |
| Default TDP | 35W |
| L3 Cache | 4 MB |
| GPU | AMD Radeon Vega 3 |
| GPU Cores | 3 |
| Graphics Frequency | 1100 MHz |
The specifications of the desktop version are nothing special, but it seems good when we consider the fact that it’s a budget CPU.
In real life, the performance of this CPU is good. You can use this desktop CPU for light gaming and everyday use. It won’t disappoint until you push it to run heavy games.
You can get the AMD Athlon 3000G for budget PC building. Just make sure to use faster RAM and NVMe SSD for a faster overall experience.
Now, let’s talk about how the AMD Athlon CPU performs on laptops.
How powerful is the AMD Athlon CPU on laptops?
The AMD Athlon Silver 3050U is the most popular CPU, and we have also used the same. So to answer if AMD Athlon is good, we have chosen the Athlon 3050U CPU.
But before anything else, you must have an idea of what this CPU has to offer.
| CPU Name | AMD Athlon 3050U |
|---|---|
| Mfg Process | 14nm |
| Cores | 2 |
| Threads | 2 |
| Base Frequency | 2.30 GHz |
| Max Frequency | 3.20 GHz |
| Default TDP | 15W |
| L3 Cache | 4 MB |
| GPU | AMD Radeon Graphics |
| GPU Cores | 2 |
| Graphics Frequency | 1100 MHz |
From the specifications chart, it’s clear that AMD Athlon is not a powerful CPU but made to handle basic everyday tasks.
But how efficiently it handles those tasks is what we are going to find here.
You might also check these Best HP Laptops under 25000.
Is AMD Athlon good for students?
Students usually buy a laptop for study, and a laptop with Athlon 3050U CPU can serve their purpose well.
It’s an ideal CPU for tasks like:
- Using Firefox with 5 to 7 tabs.
- Reading from PDF or MS Word documents.
- Watching lectures on YouTube.
- Watching offline videos.
- And some other essential stuff.
If you are an IT student who write code and run complex software, then AMD Athlon will struggle a lot, and you won’t have a good experience.
You might run slightly heavy apps in the beginning, but the performance will degrade over time, and your experience will deteriorate significantly.
So, the AMD Athlon is good for students but only to perform light tasks. And even with light tasks, you might notice some stutter here and there.
If you are wondering how it stands against the competitor, the Intel Celeron N4020, then the AMD Athlon 3050U performs slightly better.
These laptops under 45000 are perfect for students.
Is AMD Athlon good for office use?
What is your work in the office? Do you work on MS Excel?
If yes, then a dual-core CPU can handle MS Excel. As Athlon 3050U has two cores, it should handle MS Excel without much problem.
In the practical world, this CPU handles casual and intermediate calculations easily. However, when it comes to large datasets and complex calculations, the CPU slows down, and processing the data takes significant time.
The time taken to process the data can frustrate you, so we don’t advise AMD Athlon to process large amounts of data on MS Excel.
If your work is more than just using MS Excel, then Athlon CPU won’t be enough for you. In that case, you need a more powerful CPU.
However, if you are a writer or researcher, and do anything that requires the least CPU power, then AMD Athlon could be a decent option.
These Ryzen 5 laptops under 50000 are perfect for Office use.
Is AMD Athlon good for gaming?
The AMD Athlon CPU is strictly for essential use, so don’t even think of gaming.
But what if you push the CPU to run games?
Well, most games won’t even run. They might crash or never load.
2D games like Limbo run just fine on this CPU but don’t expect 3D games to run smoothly.
All in all, the mobile version of AMD Athlon CPU is not for gaming.
However, the same can’t be said about the desktop version of AMD Athlon CPU, like AMD Athlon 3000G.
Although it’s a budget CPU, it can still play most games in lower settings. Desktop CPUs are significantly better than mobile CPUs, so it’s evident that you will notice a huge difference in performance.
But again, even the desktop version of AMD Athlon is not for high-end gaming. It’s just for everyday use and low-end gaming.
These budget gaming laptops under 55000 deliver impressive gaming performance.
Should you buy AMD Athlon laptops?
If you are a beginner, student, or in a learning phase, then it’s evident that you won’t spend much on a laptop as long as you don’t have budget problems.
Most probably, you are going to buy a budget laptop that doesn’t lag while performing everyday tasks.
If you want a laptop for such essential usage, then sure, you can buy a laptop with AMD Athlon CPU, especially the Athlon 3050U.
If the laptop has SSD storage, then it would be even better. You won’t notice much lag in everyday use.
However, if your usage is anything more than performing essential tasks, then we highly suggest you get a laptop not with AMD Athlon but with a more powerful CPU like Intel i3 11th gen or Ryzen 3 5300U.
In our honest opinion, get a laptop with either Intel i3 11th gen or Ryzen 3 5300U or above because these processors will help a laptop run smoothly in the long run.
You might also check these best Ryzen 3 laptops under 30000.
How much should you pay for AMD Athlon laptops?
If you have a strict budget and made up your mind to buy a laptop with an AMD Athlon CPU, then you must not overpay for it.
The maximum you should pay for an AMD Athlon laptop is Rs 25000 to 28000.
If the laptop has 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD, and an FHD display, only then you should pay up to Rs 30000 for an AMD Athlon laptop, but we will still suggest you not to pay more than 28k.
The sellers in the offline market will try to trick you with the features and specifications but don’t fall for what they say. They just try to sell the product, no matter what.
Are you looking for a well-balanced laptop under 35000? These are the best options under 35k.
Final Verdict
No matter the mobile or desktop version, you can’t expect high-end performance from AMD Athlon CPU.
This CPU is for those who can’t spend much but want to do everyday tasks.
If you understand what this CPU is made for, you won’t be disappointed.
But if you expect too much, then you will be disappointed.
Are you looking for a new monitor? Check these best monitors under 25000.
So, Is AMD Athlon good? We are sure you know the answer now.
If you still have any doubts, feel free to ask us in the comment section.
Do share your thoughts if you agree or disagree with the aforementioned points.
