Advanced Micro Devices is in talks with HP and eMachines, a division of Gateway, about developing the so-called Media Center personal computers powered by AMD Athlon 64 processors. While there are no actual plans declared, the negotiations show that AMD wants to oppose Intel on the field that has been historically dominated by the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker. Media Center personal computer is a type of desktop or laptop PC that runs a special version of Microsoft Windows operating system and is typically used to play video, television, music and store media collections. Nowadays the vast majority of Media Center PCs are based on Intel"s microprocessors.
Reuters reports that AMD"s John Crank, a manager for the Sunnyvale, California-based chipmaker, is anticipating that AMD Athlon 64 processor would be a great platform for Media Center PCs from companies like HP and Gateway because of 64-bit capability, excellent performance in widely-spread 32-bit applications as well as Cool"n"Quiet technology that makes PCs to operate quieter.