Chip designer Advanced Micro Devices is announcing eight new additions to its consumer-focused Athlon II desktop microprocessors today.
The new desktop chips include chips with two, three and four computing brains on a single chip. They’re targeted at mainstream computer users looking for bargains on new PCs during the holiday season. Since the new chips are more power efficient, they’re aimed at desktop computers in the smallest cases.
Web sites and system builders will begin selling the processors today, while big computer makers will launch products in the coming weeks. Big customers include HP, Dell, Acer and Lenovo.
The new line-up is AMD’s bid to revive computer chip sales, which may see a boost because of the Oct. 22 launch of Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system. Brent Kerby, senior product marketing manager at Sunnyvale, Calif.,-based AMD, said the chips are likely to be used in all-in-one computers with 20-inch displays or more (all-in-one computers combine a desktop computer and display in a compact design).
The new products are a necessary part of AMD’s own recovery. The company reported a non-GAAP profit of $2 million in the third quarter after a couple of years’ worth of losses. It also reported a lift in sales from the second to the third quarter as bargains drew PC buyers back into the market.
The new chips are made with AMD’s 45-nanometer production process which has been used to make most of the company’s chips this year. The chips consume either 45 watts or 65 watts of power. They will carry the Athlon II brand, a consumer-focused brand that isn’t as pricey or fast as AMD’s Phenom II brand. Prices range from $69 to $143.
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