AMD Ryzen 5 2500U vs AMD Ryzen 5 1500X vs AMD 3015e

AMD Ryzen 5 2500U

The AMD Ryzen 5 2500U is a mobile APU for thin and light laptops that was announced in October 2017. It includes four Zen cores clocked at 2 to 3.6 GHz and offers 4 MB L3-Cache. The integrated graphics card is called Radeon RX Vega 8 and offers 8 CUs (512 Shaders) clocked at up to 1100 MHz. The TDP is configurable between 12 and 25 Watt (15 Watt nominal). More information on Raven Ridge can be found in our launch article.

AMD Ryzen 5 1500X

The AMD Ryzen 5 1500X is a desktop processor with 4 cores and Hyper Threading (SMT). It is the fastest Ryzen 5 quad-core processor in the beginning of 2017, but the 65-watt TDP is similar to the hexa-core Ryzen 5 1600.

The Ryzen 5 1500X has a base frequency of 3.5 GHz and can reach up to 3.7 GHz via Turbo (up to 2 cores) or 3.9 GHz via XFR (also up to 2 cores).

The processor based on the Zen architecture is not fully convincing in games. AMD blames missing optimizations from the gaming producers.

AMD 3015e

The AMD 3015e is a dual-core, quad-thread processor (APU) of the Pollock product family. Its cores run at 1.2 GHz to 2.3 GHz and it has a low 6 W TDP, making it a good option for use in passively cooled laptops and ultra-small mini-PCs of the more affordable flavour. The processor first saw the light of day in 2020; it has a built-in Vega 3 graphics adapter running at up to 600 MHz.

Architecture & Features

This chip makes use of the rather dated Zen architecture for comparatively poor performance-per-MHz values. It has 4 MB of L3 cache and several PCI-Express 3.0 lanes for connecting NVMe SSDs, discrete graphics cards and other devices; its RAM controller functions in single-channel mode and supports DDR4-1600 memory or slower. AMD 3015e is compatible with Windows 10, Windows 11, and many Linux distros as well. Please note this is not a user-replaceable CPU. It gets soldered permanently to the motherboard (FT5 socket interface).

Performance

While we have not tested a single system built around the 3015e as of August 2023, we have some performance data for the 3050e, a chip that is just slightly superior. Based on that, the 3015e is a low-end option competing with the likes of the Intel N4500 and the Intel 4415U that is good for basic tasks and applications only.

Graphics

The Vega 3 runs at an unusually low clock rate of 600 MHz, or less. It will let you connect several monitors in resolutions as high as UHD 2160p, and it will happily decode AVC, HEVC and VP9-encoded videos, too. The latest AV1 video codec is not supported; such a video will have to be software-decoded, with the limited CPU horsepower putting a hard limit on video resolution that can be played back without stuttering. Expect to see a lot of dropped frames when watching a 1080p30 video.

Gaming is possible to a very limited extent with this iGPU. Even if it's CS:GO or a similarly old game that you want to play, be prepared to set the settings to Low.

Power consumption

This little AMD processor has a low default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 6 W, making it one of the better options for use in a passively cooled laptop, tablet, mini-PC.

The AMD 3015e is manufactured on a 14 nm process leading to poor, as of mid 2023, energy efficiency.