The Ryzen 3 3200G Is Not Worth Your Money

Recently, I found out that the desktop world is much better than being on a laptop. For a couple of years, I used a laptop from high school, and I noticed it was running very slow. After talking to a lot of IT people, they all told me to get a desktop system. They said it would be a little more expensive, but very worth it in the end.

The only problem is that I’m broke and don’t have money for a really expensive computer, so I decided to go as cheap as possible — and oh boy, was I wrong. I’ve had the worst experience and ended up spending more money than I thought. This was a big mistake, and I hope nobody else does what I did.

To start, I bought the MSI B550-A PRO motherboard. I had heard very good things about this board, and I still think it was a good option. I paid $90 for it, and I like the sleek design. Overall, I think it’s a pretty solid motherboard.

Now, where I went wrong was buying the AMD Ryzen 3 3200G, which I paid $64.40 for on Amazon. I thought, “That’s a good deal, I’ll jump on that.” It was the cheapest CPU that would fit my motherboard, and I didn’t want to buy used because I’ve had bad experiences with that before. However, this was a really bad purchase that I’ve learned from.

Here are the CPU specifications:

• Cores: 4

• Threads: 4

• Base Clock: 3.6 GHz

• Max Boost Clock: Up to 4.0 GHz

• L1 Cache: 384 KB

• L2 Cache: 2 MB

• L3 Cache: 4 MB

• Unlocked for Overclocking: Yes

• CPU Socket: AM4

Those specs look decent on paper for a budget CPU, but in real-world use, performance was underwhelming. Even basic tasks like web browsing with multiple tabs open and light gaming felt sluggish compared to what I expected, especially after hearing desktop PCs were supposed to feel faster than my old laptop.

My final thought is, I think this CPU is very bad. Sure, it’s cheap, but it’s extremely slow and not worth the $65. Anyone trying to build a PC on a tight budget should spend a little more money to get a CPU that’s actually worth paying for.

Note: This review is part of a classroom project.