AMD pressures Intel with inexpensive desktop chips

IDG News Service - Advanced Micro Devices on Tuesday announced inexpensive desktop microprocessors with up to six cores to put pricing pressure on rival Intel.

AMD's new chips include the fastest AMD Phenom II X6 1075T six-core processor, which is priced "under $250" for 1,000 units, AMD said. AMD also introduced a range of dual-core and quad-core Athlon II and Phenom II desktop microprocessors priced between $76 and $185.

By comparison, Intel's cheapest six-core processor is the Core i7-970 processor, which is priced at $885 per 1,000 units, according to a price list on Intel's website.

The 1075T chip runs at 3GHz and includes 3MB of L2 cache and 6MB of L3 cache. The chip "erases excuses for delaying your PC purchase," AMD said. The CPU is designed to bring high-performance computing and high-definition content to home computers at affordable prices, the company said.

The company also announced two unlocked Black Edition processors to give flexibility to enthusiasts to tweak chips to either perform faster or slower at lower power consumption.

The new Black Edition chips include the $185 quad-core Phenom II X4 970 BE, which runs at 3.5 GHz and includes 2MB of L2 and 6MB of L3 cache, and the $105 Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition processor, which runs at 3.3 GHz and includes 1MB of L2 and 6MB of L3 cache.

The cheapest microprocessor in the new lineup is the $76 dual-core Athlon II X2 265 processor, which runs at 3.3GHz and includes 2MB of cache.

AMD has always had a price advantage over Intel. Intel's processors go into 80% of the world's PCs, and a way for AMD to gain share over Intel is by selling chips at lower prices, which enables PC makers to build less expensive systems. Some of the cheapest desktops sold by online retailers like Office Depot and Walmart under $450 come with AMD's Athlon or Sempron chips.