Lenovo has extended its use of Advanced Micro Devices processors in PCs with the launch of a new desktop Thursday.
The PC maker announced the ThinkCentre A63 desktop, which runs on a choice of AMD’s Sempron, Athlon or Phenom processors. The desktop, targeted at small and medium-size businesses, is priced starting at US$329.
The company earlier this month released its first ThinkPad laptops with AMD chips to expand that line to budget buyers. The AMD-based ThinkPad Edge laptops are priced starting at $500.
AMD is also trying to expand its market presence as it tries to compete more effectively with Intel. Intel’s microprocessors are used in more than 80 percent of the world’s PCs.
The ThinkCentre A63 desktop will use dual-core, triple-core or quad-core chips manufactured using AMD’s latest 45-nanometer process, which should bring more power efficiency to the systems, Lenovo said. AMD is due to upgrade its processor designs later this year when it releases a platform called Leo, which could include chips with up to six cores.
Lenovo also introduced two high-performance desktop PCs Thursday, the ThinkCentre M90 and M90p, targeted at businesses. The systems will run Intel’s Nehalem-based Core i5 and Core i7 chips with up to four cores.
The M90 and M90p desktops will be able to boot up in as little as 35 seconds and shut down in as little as 9.6 seconds based on special software that Lenovo has developed for the Windows 7 OS. The systems will also support multitouch finger input when paired with the L2461x monitor from Lenovo, according to the company.
The desktops, available in tower and small form-factor designs, will start shipping in February. The M90 and M90p desktops are priced starting $779 and $899, respectively.