AMD launches low-cost Athlon II, Phenom II chips

AMD made five additions on Monday to its Athlon II and Phenom II chip lines, saying the processors are designed for high performance, small form factors and relatively low price points.

Three of the five new chips sell for under $100 (£60), AMD noted. One of these is the 3.2GHz Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition chip, selling for $99. AMD said this is its fastest dual-core processor to date, aimed at budget-conscious Windows 7 users.

The company also highlighted the $119 Athlon II X4 635, a 2.9GHz quad-core chip designed for high performance and tuned for multi-tasking and multi-threaded applications.

Other chips released on Monday included the Athlon II X2 255, running at 3.1GHz and selling for $74; the Athlon II X3 440, running at 3GHz and selling for $84; and the Phenom II X4 910e, running at 2.6GHz and selling for $169.

AMD published more details on the new Athlon II and Phenom II chips on its website.

This launch follows AMD's release on Thursday of financial results for the fourth quarter of 2009, reporting revenue of $1.646bn, up 18 percent compared to the previous quarter and up 42 percent on the fourth quarter of 2008.

The company reported a profit of $1.17bn, its first profit in more than three years. The fourth quarter of 2009 also saw November's $1.25bn legal settlement with Intel, which ended AMD's antitrust claims against its much larger rival.