Advanced Micro Devices will try to breathe new life into the lackluster desktop PC market with the first sub-$100 quad-core processor aimed at Windows 7–and Intel.
It’s all about mobile computing today. But AMD’s Athlon II X4 quad-core processor will give consumers something to consider on the desktop when Windows 7 ships in October. The chip is priced at $99 for “system builders,” according to AMD.
“The introduction of the new AMD mainstream desktop platform coupled with Windows 7, allows…a faster, higher performing experience at an attractive price point,” said Mike Ybarra, general manager of Windows Product Management at Microsoft, in a statement.
I have always preferred an AMD Chip…. Fantastic… but I thought we had news a while ago that AMD was having problems… I hope they do wel with this one… 🙂
So technically, exactly, how is this chip “aimed” at Win 7 other than its marketing campaign?
I am more interested in the new 2-GHz ARM Chip. Desktop machines are so last decade.
#2. bobbo, it’s cheap, easy to produce and suitable for a wide variety of existent motherboard/RAM configurations- that complement the small scale manufacturers and hobbyist. Overclockers, have a review of it, here’s the Excel big-number spec test. http://overclockersclub.com/reviews/athlon2_620/5.htm
#4–sargasso==thanks. Unless you or others disagree, then from that link I conclude there is absolutely NOTHING in this chip that is aimed at Win 7 and all it is doing is following Moore’s Law. Thats excellent, unavoidable.
I’m still going to save my money and buy the processor that sexy babes like seeing real men use.
#5
PowerPC ?
#6 – joaoPT
Nope, food processor. I am thinking margaritas or something with fruit and ice.
I would give an ARM to get good intel on how to shuffle my PowerPC to the Core2Duo 1 on 1.
(does this make me a pun dit?)
A: @ least a pun twit…
I don’t think pun means what you think it means. Try a hiaku instead.
You could do a decent gamer machine pretty cheap. If they bundle it with Vista Gamer it might help the vista sales, better yet, they could have a Windows 7 gamer edition.
This is exactly what AMD has to do… and it will be a good selling tactic. Granted… most uses right now have no need for the Quad. Let’s hope this sparks an all out price war!
#2, Improbus,
Desktop machines are so last decade.
I much prefer my desktop to either of our laptops. I do a lot of video and photo editing and the horsepower of a desk top can’t be beat.
Whenever my machine gets a little long in the tooth, I simply upgrade a part at a time. I’m due for another keyboard. I love this MS Internet Keyboard, but there is just too much coffee, food crumbs, etc beneath the keys.
This processor does look interesting.
I’d love to see a return to the days when CPUs didn’t need fans to keep them cool. Or maybe just a tiny one. The mobile processors in laptops are pretty close to that. But I think they could run chips a lot cooler, if they used all this multi-core technology, to do what a single core does, only a lot cooler. But they’ll just try maxing out the processor’s capacity, to play some wicked 3D games. And edit video in real time. Whatever. Will all this multi-core stuff really be put to good use, by 99% of PC users? I seriously doubt it. Twittering doesn’t need it. Built in whole system encryption, would be a nice use of all that chip power.
Even though this is just a variant of the Ridgeback/Shanghai processor, I can say that this was an impressive accomplishment for AMD due to the small number of people who worked on this chip and how quickly they were able to get this working into production.
It has no L3, but the price of a 4-core just a few years ago would have been many times what you could a system with this for, and the IO would have been much slower.
Anandtech has a pretty good article and review.
@GetSmart
(rimshot)
#13 Glenn E. Via makes Epia mini ITX motherboards with processor @ 1.8 Ghz that run without fans, I’ve been using them for years in machines that do 24/7 to keep my electric bills down. More than enough processor to do multimedia even HD, navegate, peer to peer, chat, etc. AND, Ubuntu installs flawlessly, no need to install any 3rd party drivers.
Cool, I just wished both AMD and Intel would quit changing sockets.
I still have an AM2 system with dual core 3.1Ghz that still can benefit from future chips, but AMD decided that AM2 is now dead and the Phenom series will never be available for it even though it would work.
Intel did well with Socket 775, it had a long run, but lately they’re going socket mad.