Advanced Micro Devices on Thursday launched a marketing campaign that downplays the hardware specs inside a PC in favor of a more consumer-friendly focus on what buyers can do with their new computer.

In introducing its "Vision" campaign, AMD said specs related to CPUs, graphics processors, and other hardware mean very little to most consumers and make the process of buying a PC too confusing.

"Today's consumer cares about what they can do with their PC, not what's inside," Nigel Dessau, chief marketing officer for AMD, said in a statement. "They want a rich HD (high-definition) and entertainment experience on their PC, delivered by the combined technology of AMD CPUs and GPUs, without having to understand what gigahertz and gigabytes mean."

To market its technology in a "more meaningful way," AMD has divided its many CPUs and GPUs for PCs into three categories: Vision Basic, Vision Premium, and Vision Ultimate.

AMD is hoping to convince computer makers to slap the Basic label on PCs used primarily to watch DVDs and online video, check e-mail, surf the Web, and listen to music. Premium systems would have the horsepower to watch high-definition Blu-ray discs, convert video to watch on portable media players, convert CDs to MP3s, play games, and use a Webcam.

Finally, Ultimate PCs would be able to create and edit high-definition movies, record live TV, play graphics-rich online games, edit and mix music, perform advanced photo editing, and create podcasts.

In the first quarter of next year, AMD plans to launch a fourth category, Vision Black. Systems carrying the brand will primarily be desktops targeted at PC enthusiasts and hardcore gamers. These computers will have the highest performing CPUs and GPUs from AMD.

Whether computer makers will share AMD's vision for marketing PCs remains to be seen. The chipmaker said Vision-labeled laptops are expected to start hitting retail shelves with Microsoft's release of Windows 7 Oct. 22. The systems are expected to be "widely available" during the holiday shopping season.

Analysts have said for quite awhile that people today care more about what they can do with the PC they buy, rather than what's inside the system. A good example is the popularity of inexpensive netbooks. The mini-laptops, which are built only for the most basic PC tasks, have become the fastest-growing segment of the PC market because of their low cost, as low as $300, and their good-enough functionality.

Intel has tried to simplify the branding of its many CPUs, but not to the level of simplification as rival AMD.

In announcing Vision, AMD also unveiled its latest platforms for mainstream and ultra-thin laptops. The separate platforms combine various AMD processors and graphics chips for each PC category. Ultra-thin laptops are defined as systems less than an inch thick.

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