Sunnyvale, California-based Advanced Micro Devices has announced today the debut of a couple of new desktop processors, part of the company's extending line of Athlon II chips. With Windows 7 just around the corner, these new parts are expected to provide system builders and users alike with a choice for an affordable CPU that can also perform decently for its price range. The new lineup of Athlon II CPUs includes dual-core, triple-core and quad-core models in total of eight new chips, six of which are part of the chip maker’s energy-efficient lineup.

 

The lowest priced model, announced today by the world's second largest PC manufacturer is the dual-core Athlon II X2 235e, designed to provide consumers with a clock speed of 2.7GHz and a TDP of 45W. As a matter of fact, all of AMD's new energy-efficient Athlon II processors have been designed with a 45W TDP. The aforementioned 235e model will become available for a price tag of US$69, in thousand-unit quantities, according to AMD.

 

The new lineup includes the Athlon II X2 240e, 400e, 405e, 600e and 605e, all of which are designed to work with a TDP of 45W and sport clock speeds of 2.8GHz, 2.2GHz, 2.3GHz, 2.2GHz and 2.3GHz, respectively. The Athlon II X2 400e and 405e models are part of AMD's triple-core offering, while the last two are part of the expanding line of quad-core CPUs. Price wise, these models are rated at prices of US$77, US$99, US$102, US$133 and US$143, respectively.

 

In addition to all of the aforementioned models, the chip maker also announced the triple-core Athlon II X3 425 and Athlon II X3 435, designed with a 95W TDP and core speeds of 2.7GHz and 2.9GHz, respectively. These two will be made available for US$76 and US$86 in thousand-unit quantities and according to early reviews users should be very pleased with the performance/price ratio that the US$435 model offers, especially when compared to similarly-priced Intel Core 2 Duos.