Hewlett Packard Co, which has used chips from Advanced Micro Devices Inc for its low-end systems for the last year or so, has committed to use AMD’s recently launched K6-2 chip (CI No 3,419). HP will use the new part, the equivalent of Intel Corp’s Pentium II Celeron, in its new line of Pavilion PCs for the home, which will be sold through retail channels. The deal will mean that AMD’s 3DNow! alternative graphics technology will get its first exposure into the retail environment, vital if it is to build up some momentum and support before Intel’s Katmai next generation MMX instructions reach the market. HP’s 6330 PC Pavilion model will use the 300MHz K6-2 with 512Kb L2 cache and 48Mb SDRAM, and the 6350 PC will use the 333MHz part with similar cache and 64Mb SDRAM.
