AMD Develops Low-Cost Desktop Chips

Advanced Micro Devices is continuing to roll out products in the under-$100 (£62) range.

Less than two weeks after announcing a mainstream graphics card supporting Microsoft’s DirectX 11 that starts at $99, AMD is launching five desktop processors, including three with prices of less than $100.

AMD on 25 Jan. released the 3.1GHz Athlon II X2 255 and the 3.0GHz Athlon II X3 440. They have starting prices of $74 and $84, respectively, in 1,000 units.

In addition, AMD is rolling out the Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition chip, which company officials said is the fastest dual-core desktop processor, with a speed of 3.2GHz. The chip, which has a power envelope of 80 watts, sells for $99 per 1,000 units.

AMD said it’s the best chip for consumers who want to run the Windows 7 operating system while keeping costs low.

Along with those three chips, AMD also released the Athlon II X4 635, a 2.9GHz chip with a thermal envelope of 95 watts, and the 2.6GHz Phenom II X4 910e with a power draw of 65 watts. Pricing for these chips is $119 and $169, respectively.

AMD officials also are encouraging buyers to use the chips in conjunction with their ATI Radeon 5800 Series graphics cards and Windows 7-series chip sets. The new processors are aimed at casual video game players, social networking fans and consumers who use their computers for multimedia tasks, such as photo editing.

On 14 Jan, AMD unveiled the ATI Radeon HD 5670 graphics card, which gives users such capabilities as DirectX 11 support and AMD’s ATI Eyefinity technology for $99.