6-watt APUs: AMD 3015e and 3020e for student notebooks

6-watt APUs

With the mobile processors 3015e and 3020e, AMD delivers two older Zen cores and an integrated graphics unit in a favorable overall package with only 6 watts TDP. The Apus of the entrance class should deliver sufficient performance for office and web. Lenovo makes the beginning.

Zen 1 in 14 nm at 6 Watt TDP

Like the new Athlon Gold and Silver, the two Apus, which do not have a brand name like "Athlon" or "Ryzen", are probably based on the Dali APU. Two CPU cores of the first Zen architecture manufactured in the 14 nm process and an integrated Vega graphics unit of the lower performance class are offered. The reduced clock speed compared to the aforementioned Athlon allows the TDP to be lowered from 15 watts to only 6 watts.

The AMD 3015e provides four threads and is superior in this respect to the AMD 3020e with two threads, which in turn is better positioned elsewhere. Both have a very low base clock of 1.2 Ghz, in turbo the 3015e works with 2.3 Ghz and the 3020e with 2.6 Ghz. The integrated Vega GPU with three compute units (3 CU) works on the 3015e with 600 Mhz and on the 3020e with 1,000 Mhz. The 3020e is also superior in memory support with DDR4-2400 and dual channel instead of DDR4-1600 and single channel.

Lenovo’s school notebooks make the start

The entry-level solutions are intended for low-cost notebooks with Windows operating systems in the education sector, as AMD describes on a website. There, for example, the AMD 3015e is compared with an Intel Celeron N4120 in selected benchmarks, where the APU of AMD is clearly ahead.

The attack on the education sector begins with partner Lenovo, who has unveiled two notebooks for pupils and students with the new AMD processors. Both have an 11.6-inch display with 1,366 768 pixels, an AMD 3015e, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of flash memory (eMMC). The Lenovo 100e in classic notebook format has a TN display and starts at 219 US dollars. The Lenovo 300e, which is at least 299 US dollars more expensive, is designed as a 2-in-1: The VA display offers touch functionality including pen support and can be folded down 360 degrees for tablet operation. In addition, the 300e has a 128 GB SSD installed. However, both models offer the current Wi-Fi 6 standard thanks to the Intel AX200 chip and a 720p webcam. Connectors include USB Type-C and Type-A, HDMI, an audio jack and a Microsd card reader.

Lenovo 100e

Lenovo advertises with a robust design with reinforced connectors and hinges that is designed to withstand drops up to 75 cm in height. The keyboard also provides some protection against ingress of liquid (up to 330 ml). In addition to Windows 10 (Pro), Lenovo provides software for learning remotely. The Lenovo VR Classroom 2 is again a complete set of hardware and software for virtual reality lessons.