AMD's New $99 Quad-Core Coming To A PC Near You

In addition to new Athlon II X4 620-based desktops from Tier 1 computer makers Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and Fujitsu, several smaller system builders "should have systems later this month or early next," a spokesperson for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD told Channelweb.com Thursday.

In fact, El Monte, Calif.-based IBuyPower is currently advertising three such low-price enthusiast-targeted rigs on its Web site, including the Gamer Mage 260, a $579 tower loaded with 4 GB of Corsair DDR2 memory, a 500-GB SATA II hard drive and the ATI Radeon HD 4550 discrete graphics card from AMD.

The Athlon II X4 620 is a 2.6GHz, 45nm quad-core processor featuring 2 MB of total dedicated L2 cache and a 4,000MHz HyperTransport bus. A 95W part that drops into AMD's AM3 socket, the processor is part of an AMD hardware platform that includes the chip maker's 785G chipset and HD 4200 integrated graphics from ATI.

CyberPower of Baldwin Park, Calif., has a pair of new desktops based on the Athlon II X4 620, which AMD released Wednesday and currently lists at $99. The new parts were available for $99.99 through e-tailer TigerDirect.com on Thursday.

ZT Systems, which recently started selling its new AMD Phenom II-based ZT Affinity desktop on Sears.com and Buy.com, is planning to launch Athlon II X4 SKUs through the same outlets in the coming weeks, according to Travis Scott, director of marketing at the Secaucus, N.J.-based computer maker.

"It's absolutely our plan to build systems built on that processor," Scott said.

Other system builders are taking a wait-and-see approach. Joe Toste, vice president of marketing for Minneapolis-based Equus Computer Systems, said his company would evaluate the Athlon II X4 620 for commercial desktop PCs.

"In B-to-B, a $100 savings makes a big difference. We're definitely trying to position a product in that space," Toste said. "But I'm not going to rush to put it into a system. There had better be good availability of parts. That said, the board support from people like Asus, Foxconn and MSI has been good lately."

Mega Micro Devices is another white box builder that will evaluate the new processor in the coming weeks, according to Prit Gill, owner and president of the Fremont, Calif.-based company.

"I would say this is an interesting thing. Anytime some new product comes out and the price is a good value, there is an interest there. The word 'quad-core' is attractive in and of itself," Gill said.