AMD targets Intel with business chips

AMD is making a play for the business market by combining four existing chips in a new business package to make them more attractive to system builders.

AMD told vnunet.com that the chips are not new, but are existing architectures that have been streamlined and made more energy efficient to appeal to the business market.

The chips include the 2.4GHz Phenom X4 9750B Quad-Core, the 2.4GHz Phenom X3 8750B Triple-Core, the 2.9GHz Athlon X2 5600B Dual-Core and the 2.5GHz Athlon X2 4850B Dual-Core.

The two Phenom processors work within a 95 watt thermal envelope, while the Athlon X2 5600B has a thermal envelop of 65 watts and the Athlon X2 4850B works at 45 watts.

"These new processors are the latest effort by AMD to offer the best value and tools on the market for OEMs and system builders to provide solid, reliable platform components," the company said in a statement.

"They deliver exceptional performance and power savings, industry-leading longevity and stability, while supporting the essential security and manageability business users require."

The latest data from IDC today puts AMD's share of the overall processor market at 19.7 per cent compared to Intel's 79.7 per cent. In desktop PCs Intel stands at 73.3 per cent and AMD at 26.4 per cent.

Shane Rau, director of semiconductors: personal computing research at IDC, said: "Intel's processor shipments grew nearly 4.3 per cent over the first quarter and 20.8 per cent year over year, while AMD's processor shipments were about flat.

"While processor unit shipments exceeded our forecast in 2Q08, Intel's aggressive approach to the market, through both product and pricing, points to a major supply-side variable.

"However, economic concerns cause us to maintain our conservative outlook for the second half of the year."