AMD Extends Line Of Mobile Athlon Processors

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is doing all it can to stay abreast of Intel in the laptop processor war.

AMD launched three new mobile processors in its Athlon XP-M line on Tuesday, adding a pair of low-voltage models targeting ultralight laptops and one aimed at desktop replacement systems, its highest-performance portable chip thus far.

The two power-miser processors, the Athlon 1900+ and 2000+, are designed for the thin and light laptops that on-the-road workers crave. Low-voltage processors make the smaller confines of petite portables possible--they consume less power and give off less heat.

Fujitsu PC will be one of the first laptop makers to use the Athlon 1900+, said AMD.

The Athlon 2800+, meanwhile, is both faster and consumes more power, making it suitable for the larger, heavier laptops lumped in the so-called "desktop replacement" market, portables intended to stay on the desktop the majority of the time.

AMD said that Time Computer, a U.K.-based manufacturer, will roll out a laptop this week incorporating the 2800+.