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HP to add AMD chips in notebooks
By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
January 5, 2000, 5:35 p.m. PT
While Intel grabbed attention today with its upcoming Internet appliances, rival AMD is countering with an 800-MHz
Athlon for desktops and an expanded relationship with Hewlett-Packard.
As expected, AMD will release an 800-MHz Athlon processor at the Computer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Both IBM and
Compaq Computer will be on hand tomorrow to announce computers running the new processor, according to sources.
Meanwhile, HP today announced that it has adopted the K6-2 in four new Pavillion notebooks for
consumers. Although HP has used K6-2 chips in its consumer desktops, today's announcement
marks the first time HP has used the chips in notebooks. The new laptops, due at the end of the
month, range in price from $1,199 to $2,399.
HP also announced an Intel Pentium III notebook. HP is also considering adopting the Athlon for
desktops, analysts have said.
With the new chip, AMD will retake a slim performance edge over Intel in the market for PC
processors, according to benchmark testers.
"The results in the Athlon vs. Pentium III 800 MHz battle are mixed; it's safe to say that the two
parts are comparable, and that in real-life game play in lower resolutions, Athlon has the edge,"
stated authors at The Meter, a benchmark testing site run by Mercury Research. Intel late last
month released an 800-MHz Pentium processor.
Benchmarks aside, the big issue remains supply. Few of the 800-MHz Pentium IIIs have hit the
market. Sales representatives at Dell Computer state that it will take customers roughly a month
to get a system with the chip, much longer than other Dell computers. Fast Athlon processors
were difficult to find earlier, but supplies have steadily improved, according to sources.
Intel has also been saddled with other supply problems. Gateway earlier today admitted that it will
report lower than expected earnings for the quarter that just ended because of, among other reasons, a shortage of Intel
processors.
Previously, Gateway had used both AMD and Intel processors in its PCs, but phased out AMD chips during the second half of
the year. AMD officials have said that the relationship began to change because of supply issues. Gateway, however, is not
slated to join in any announcement with AMD tomorrow. |
