AMD Launches New Athlon 64 Chips
Intel rival AMD, targeting energy-conscious users and gamers, has introduced new desktop processors that promise low energy consumption and advanced graphics capabilities.
The 45-watt Athlon 64 3500+ and 3800+ single-core processors aim to save users energy while the Athlon 64 X2 6000+ dual-core processor offers better performance than its predecessor.
“We expect that our commercial and consumer customers, as well as end-users, will be pleased with both the low noise and small form factor designs possible using this latest generation of energy-efficient desktop processors,” Bob Brewer, corporate vice president of AMD’s Desktop Division, said in a statement.
Chip Play
With its new Athlon 64 3500+ and 3800+ desktop processors, AMD continues to push the energy-efficiency card from the data center to the desktop. Meanwhile, the new Athlon 64 X2 6000+, which targets the gamer and digital media crowd, is designed for extreme graphics performance.
Customers continue to demand technologies that focus on low-power consumption and quieter operation, with an eye to sleeker, more efficient PCs, according to Jim McGregor, principal analyst with In-Stat.
“Advances in energy-efficient computing go beyond offering end users lower energy bills,” he noted in a statement. “They can enable OEMs and system builders to deliver smaller, more innovative form factors to market.”
Silicon Rivals
As the rivalry between AMD and Intel continues, Intel is bound to introduce products of its own to try to one-up AMD in the short-term, according to Brian Matus, vice president of market research at IC Insights.
Matus described the competition between the two companies as a game of leapfrog. “With these new products, AMD may gain a little bit of an upper hand in some of the devices they are offering to these specific target markets,” he said. “But Intel is coming out with new products in the third quarter that should outperform AMD’s new processors.”
Matus also noted…
