AMD 2010 Mainstream & Ultrathin Notebook and 2010 Desktop Platforms unveiled

AMD have outed their latest 2010 Mainstream and Ultrathin Notebook Platforms, together with their 2010 Desktop Platform, and the emphasis looks to be on multimedia strength.  The new push brings AMD VISION system – first announced back in September 2009 – to the desktop, with both dual- and quad-core Athlon II CPUs for the mainstream and quad- and six-core Phenom II CPUs for enthusiasts.  Meanwhile AMD reckons its new dual-core 23w Turion II Neo and Athlon II Neo, together with the Athlon II Neo chips will be storming the Ultrathin market, while there are twelve new Mainstream notebook CPUs for regular laptops.

AMD say their notebook VISION platforms are delivering twice the graphics performance of an Intel system, and 50-percent better graphics with a discrete ATI GPU than on an Intel system with an NVIDIA GPU.  That translates to 20-percent faster photo processing in Photoshop Elements 8 and 37-percent faster DVD transfers.  The Ultrathin CPUs will support DDR3 and Direct X 10.1 support, and AMD reckon there's a reduction of heat output and an increase in battery life up to 8hrs of runtime.  Full details on the new range in the gallery.

As for the Mainstream CPUs, they get paired with various GPUs including the ATI Radeon HD 4500 for DirectX 11 support, or Radeon 4200 integrated graphics for systems where power frugality is more important than visual performance.  The new chips will show up in notebooks from Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo, among many others, and are also detailed in the gallery below.

Flipping to the desktop, the new CPUs can be paired with ATI Radeon HD 5000 series or higher video cards for DirectX 11 support and gaming performance, or Mobility Radeon 4200 GPUs for more affordable setups.  There's also USB 3.0 support from the newest chipsets.  The real news today is that AMD's VISION system for desktops splits the range into three categories, for easier selection, and will be available in machines from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI and Toshiba from today.

Press Release:

PC Manufacturers Triple Number of Notebook Platforms that Feature VISION Technology from AMD[1]

AMD Refreshes Notebook Platforms and Introduces VISION Technology for Desktop PCs

Thirty Percent More Ultrathin Notebooks and 109 New Mainstream Notebooks Based on VISION Technology Scheduled to Arrive in Time for Back-to-School Buyers2

CANNES, France —5/12/2010

From the Cannes Film Festival AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced a complete refresh of its desktop and notebook platforms based on VISION Technology for consumer and commercial customers. Ahead of the biggest buying cycle of the year, the new notebook platforms offer up to eight hours of battery life while delivering an outstanding visual experience at a great price for the mainstream and ultrathin markets.3

"With VISION Technology from AMD, we are finally connecting how people use their PCs with the way people purchase them," said Nigel Dessau, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of AMD. "Today, after little more than 200 days in market, our partners are introducing more VISION-based PCs than ever before; a testament to both the competitiveness of AMD platform technology and the simplified marketing approach."

Introduced in October 2009, VISION Technology from AMD simplifies the PC buying process at the point of sale by focusing on how consumers use PCs, rather than relying upon the confusing "speeds and feeds" technical specifications that many people find difficult to understand. VISION also denotes the powerful visual experience AMD systems enable; an important feature as more consumers use their computers as entertainment hubs for sharing photos, music and videos with friends and family, watching TV and HD videos, and playing games.

AMD 2010 Mainstream and Ultrathin Notebook Platforms

In 2009, 96 million people worldwide bought PCs for entertainment purposes.4 The AMD 2010 Mainstream Notebook Platform lets consumers enjoy their movies, music and games in stunning color and clarity, seamlessly connect with friends on social networks, and edit videos and photos. The 2010 Ultrathin Notebook Platform makes it possible for consumers to enjoy a full-featured PC experience, including HD playback, in sleek and affordable notebooks that can deliver up to eight hours of battery life. Examples of the benefits the platforms provide to consumers include the following:

In testing with HQV 2.0, a VISION-based system with AMD integrated graphics achieved a video experience score almost 2x that of a comparable Intel-based system. Additionally, a VISION-based system with AMD discrete graphics scored 50% better than a comparable Intel-based system with Nvidia discrete graphics.5

Enjoy photos with greater color, clarity and definition by cleaning up photos up to 20 percent faster with Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 than competing mainstream notebooks.6

Transfer entertainment fast and convert DVDs to play on game consoles in up to 37 percent less time than a comparable competitive mainstream notebook.7

Experience up to 80 percent smoother gaming performance in Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare™, compared to a comparable competitive mainstream system.8

AMD 2010 Desktop Platform

AMD's new mainstream and enthusiast desktop platforms are designed to deliver superior performance while alleviating unnecessary spending associated with competing platforms. The new platforms are enhanced with the latest graphics technology for stunning HD digital media and immersive 3D entertainment, and multi-core performance for seamless multi-tasking, including the new six-core AMD Phenom™ II X6 processor. Examples of the benefits the platforms provide to consumers include the following:

Share movies with friends 30 percent faster than with comparable competing PCs.9

Organize digital libraries 40 percent faster, using facial recognition to categorize photos, than competing desktop PCs.10

Build a complete AMD-based system featuring the AMD Phenom™ II X6 processor with all the necessary components and monitor for less than the price of our competition's only six-core desktop processor.11

Systems featuring these notebook and desktop platforms with VISION Technology from AMD will be available beginning today and through the end of the year from original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and System Integrators including Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI and Toshiba.