Athlon PRO 300U vs Core i3-7130U

Athlon PRO 300U

2 Cores4 Thrd15 WWMax: 3.3 GHz2019

Core i3-7130U

2 Cores4 Thrd15 WWMax: 2.7 GHz2017

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Athlon PRO 300U

2 / 4

4,080

+0.6%

Ryzen Threadripper 3990X

Core i3-7130U

2 / 4

4,055

0.0%

Core i7-940XM

Celeron G4950

Pentium Gold G5400T

Pentium Dual Core T3200

About PassMark

PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Value Upgrade Path

This is the official ChipVERSUS Value Rating, comparing raw performance (PassMark) per dollar. Components placed above yours deliver better value for money. The Athlon PRO 300U is positioned at rank 1006 and the Core i3-7130U is on rank 641, so the Core i3-7130U offers better cost-efficiency for playing games.

MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price.•
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.

Performance Per Dollar Athlon PRO 300U

#994

Atom x5-Z8300

MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A

2157%

#995

Atom Z3735G

MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A

2126%

#996

Core i5-480M

MSRP: $81|Avg: $77

1951%

#997

Core i5-460M

MSRP: $80|Avg: $129

1943%

#998

Core i5-2540M

MSRP: $266|Avg: $10

1925%

#1000

Core i5-450M

MSRP: $32|Avg: $31

1859%

#1001

Core i3-380M

MSRP: $49|Avg: $25

1782%

#1002

Core i5-430M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33

1779%

#1003

Core 2 Duo T6600

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4

1732%

#1006

Athlon PRO 300U

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

#1007

Core i7-3630QM

MSRP: $378|Avg: N/A

100%

#1008

Core i7-3610QM

MSRP: $378|Avg: N/A

100%

#1009

Core i3-1115GRE

MSRP: $338|Avg: $480

100%

#1010

Pentium A1020

MSRP: $86|Avg: $86

100%

#1011

Core i7-4702MQ

MSRP: $383|Avg: $50

100%

#1012

Pentium N4200

MSRP: $161|Avg: $30.89

99%

#1013

Pentium J2900

MSRP: $94|Avg: $20

98%

#1014

Celeron T1700

MSRP: $80|Avg: $5

97%

#1015

Celeron T3500

MSRP: $80|Avg: $10

97%

#1016

A12-9720P

MSRP: $200|Avg: $25

96%

#1017

Core i5-4300M

MSRP: $227|Avg: N/A

96%

#1018

Celeron 1005M

MSRP: $86|Avg: N/A

95%

#1019

Athlon 64 X2 TK-42

MSRP: $60|Avg: $10

95%

#1020

Athlon Neo MV-40

MSRP: $100|Avg: $5

94%

#1021

Core i7-4860EQ

MSRP: $434|Avg: $80

93%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Core i3-7130U

#188

Core i7-10870H

MSRP: $417|Avg: N/A

100%

#629

Atom x5-Z8300

MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A

868%

#630

Atom Z3735G

MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A

856%

#631

Core i5-480M

MSRP: $81|Avg: $77

785%

#632

Core i5-460M

MSRP: $80|Avg: $129

782%

#633

Core i5-2540M

MSRP: $266|Avg: $10

775%

#635

Core i5-450M

MSRP: $32|Avg: $31

748%

#636

Core i3-380M

MSRP: $49|Avg: $25

717%

#637

Core i5-430M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33

716%

#638

Core 2 Duo T6600

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4

697%

#641

Core i3-7130U

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

#650

Core i5-1345UE

MSRP: $312|Avg: $312

98%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Performance Leadership: The Athlon PRO 300U delivers superior performance across the board. It outperforms the Core i3-7130U in both compute-intensive tasks (0.6% faster) and gaming workloads.

Insight	Athlon PRO 300U	Core i3-7130U
Gaming	✅ Superior gaming performance	❌ Lower gaming performance
Workstation	✅ Better multi-core power	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks
Price	Equivalent pricing	Equivalent pricing
Longevity	✨ Modern (Raven Ridge 2 (2019) / 14 nm)	✨ Modern (Kaby Lake-U (2017) / 14 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

Insight	Athlon PRO 300U	Core i3-7130U
Cost Efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency
Upfront Cost	Equivalent pricing	Equivalent pricing

Performance Check

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Athlon PRO 300U Benchmark Check

Core i3-7130U Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Athlon PRO 300U and Core i3-7130U

Athlon PRO 300U

The Athlon PRO 300U is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 2009-01-01. It is based on the Raven Ridge 2 (2019) architecture. It features 2 cores and 4 threads. Base frequency is 2.4 GHz, with boost up to 3.3 GHz. L3 cache: 4 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: FP5. Thermal design power (TDP): 15 Watt. Memory support: DDR4 Dual-channel. Passmark benchmark score: 4,080 points. Launch price was $149.

Core i3-7130U

The Core i3-7130U is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 12 June 2017 (8 years ago). It is based on the Kaby Lake-U (2017) architecture. It features 2 cores and 4 threads. Base frequency is 2.7 GHz, with boost up to 2.7 GHz. L3 cache: 3 MB. L2 cache: 512 kB. Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: BGA1356. Thermal design power (TDP): 15 Watt. Memory support: DDR3, DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 4,055 points. Launch price was $281.

⚡

Processing Power

Both the Athlon PRO 300U and Core i3-7130U share an identical 2-core/4-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 3.3 GHz on the Athlon PRO 300U versus 2.7 GHz on the Core i3-7130U — a 20% clock advantage for the Athlon PRO 300U (base: 2.4 GHz vs 2.7 GHz). The Athlon PRO 300U uses the Raven Ridge 2 (2019) architecture (14 nm), while the Core i3-7130U uses Kaby Lake-U (2017) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Athlon PRO 300U scores 4,080 against the Core i3-7130U's 4,055 — a 0.6% lead for the Athlon PRO 300U. L3 cache: 4 MB (total) on the Athlon PRO 300U vs 3 MB on the Core i3-7130U.

Feature	Athlon PRO 300U	Core i3-7130U
Cores / Threads	2 / 4	2 / 4
Boost Clock	3.3 GHz+22%	2.7 GHz
Base Clock	2.4 GHz	2.7 GHz+13%
L3 Cache	4 MB (total)+33%	3 MB
L2 Cache	512K (per core)	512 kB
Process	14 nm	14 nm
Architecture	Raven Ridge 2 (2019)	Kaby Lake-U (2017)
PassMark	4,080	4,055
Geekbench 6 Single	—	900

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Athlon PRO 300U uses the FP5 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core i3-7130U uses BGA1356 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR4-2400 memory speed. Both support up to 32 GB of RAM. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 8 (Athlon PRO 300U) vs 12 (Core i3-7130U) — the Core i3-7130U offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives.

Feature	Athlon PRO 300U	Core i3-7130U
Socket	FP5	BGA1356
PCIe Generation	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR4-2400	DDR4-2133
Max RAM Capacity	32 GB	32 GB
RAM Channels	2	2
ECC Support	✅	❌
PCIe Lanes	8	12+50%

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: not specified (Athlon PRO 300U) / VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i3-7130U). Both include integrated graphics — AMD Radeon Vega 3 (Athlon PRO 300U) and HD Graphics 620 (Core i3-7130U) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i3-7130U targets Mainstream Laptop. Direct competitor: Core i3-7130U rivals Ryzen 3 3250U.