Advanced Micro Devices Inc has shipped its highest-powered processor to date for the notebook market, the AMD-K6/300, a 300- MHz version of the Pentium II clone. The chip will go for about $230, less than half what Intel Corp charges for the recently- introduced 300-MHz Pentium II. The fact that AMD is now essentially matching Intel speed-for-speed is seen by many as a factor that should lead the way toward a wave of low-priced notebooks. Unlike the desktop market, where sub-$1,000 PCs are exploding, notebooks have been largely stuck at the $1,500 level on the low-end. Chips from the likes of AMD and more recently- arrived Intel clone maker Rise Technology Inc – which plans to target the mobile computing market aggressively – should push bottom rung prices well below $1,500 in the near future, however. Compaq Computer Corp was the first to announce a notebook built with the new AMD chip, the Presario 1250, which is priced at $2,400. For now, AMD predicts that the K6/300 will end up in machines priced between $2,000 and $2,500, but the trickle-down effect of slower processors is inevitable. The company says that the higher-performance K62 – which performs better on graphics applications – will find it way into the mobile market next year. Beyond that, it’s too early to tell when the next generation chip, code-named Sharptooth and referred to by many as the K63, will find its way into notebooks. A spokesperson for the company says it will continue executing in the mobile area and figures the sub-$1,000 notebook will be a reality as soon as display costs can be brought in line.
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