AMD Launches Eight Athlon II Processors

Just in time for the Windows 7 season, AMD has launched not one, not two, but eight new Athlon II processors. Ranging from the X2 235e at $69 to the X4 650e at $143, there’s a CPU to fit pretty-much any budget and requirement. Like the X4 620 we took a look at two weeks ago, none of these new Athlon II’s feature an L3 cache, so the performance will be effected in scenarios that can utilize it, such as video encoding, and in some cases, even gaming.

Given the overall price-range of these new models, though, it’s clear that AMD is trying hard to dominate the budget market, and with such a wide selection, the company has a good chance of doing it. Of these eight new CPUs, four are triple-core, two are dual-core and two are quad-core. You might notice that the new quads actually cost more than the X4 620 which debuted at $99, but that’s because these are “e” versions. “e” denotes a 45W part, which is roughly half the current non-“e” quad-core parts.

AMD states that these new models would be perfect for those looking to build an efficient PC, an HTPC, or anyone looking for solid performance at the right price. With quad-cores at or just above $100, the company is certainly doing all it can to stay in people’s minds. Although these CPUs are set to launch immediately, I haven’t found them listed on any e-tailer at the time of writing. I’d expect this to change very soon, however, as I’m sure AMD has made sure that consumers could acquire these right before the Windows 7 launch.

We’ll have a review of two of these CPUs in the coming week.