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Dell, HP give AMD Phenom boost

Dell is getting set to use the quad-core and triple-core Phenom processors for the first time.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Dell is getting set to offer AMD's Phenom processors for the first time in systems, following Hewlett-Packard, giving the chipmaker a boost in its multi-core chip battle with Intel.

HP dx2450 business tower
HP dx2450 business tower Hewlett-Packard

AMD is expected to make an announcement related to Phenom in the near future.

In the second quarter, Dell will offer both triple-core and quad-core Phenom processors in its OptiPlex 740 business system, the computer company said. This would be the first instance of Dell using AMD processors with more than two cores. Dell is also slated to use the quad-core "Barcelona" Opteron processor in servers in the second quarter when AMD begins commercial shipments of the B3 version of that chip, which fixes the "TLB" bug.

Dell OptiPlex 740
Dell OptiPlex 740 Dell Computer

HP is already using the Phenom processor in its Pavilion consumer line and business line. HP's dx2450 business tower offers the triple-core Phenom X3 8600B processor (2.3GHz) and quad-core Phenom X4 8700B processor (2.5GHz), among other Phenom models.

Gateway has been selling Phenom-based systems since February.

AMD is going through a rough patch with its quad-core processors. Though launched back in September of last year, the Opteron is not slated to appear in systems until the second quarter. The Phenom processor has been used sparingly by top-tier vendors to date but this may change when B3 versions of the triple-core and quad-core chip begin to ship in volume in the coming months.