AMD Introduces Eight New Low-Power Athlon II CPUs

By Geoff Duncan October 20, 2009

AMD Athlon II die — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Chipmaker AMD has introduced a set of eight new Athlon II processors, aimed at improving the company’s profile in low-cost and low-power computing markets—and that includes consumer desktop and notebook systems. Although the new chips will not take top honors for raw performance, the new offers do include a set of triple-core CPUs and dual-, triple-, and quad-core chips that run at a low 45 watts.

Altogether, the new CPUs offer system manufacturers an alternative to Intel’s mid-range CPU lines, with pricing either in-line with comparable Intel offerings or substantially undercutting Intel’s pricing. The low-power versions of some of AMD’s processors may be particularly appealing to systems integrators looking to built function-specific PCs, like living-room all-in-one systems and media center systems, since they’ll offer lower energy consumption and have lower cooling needs.

AMD’s new chips follow a month after Intel’s latest Lynnfield Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs, which aim at the high end of desktop and gaming systems.

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