Hot on the heels of Dell"s quad-SLI XPS 600 Renegade introduction at CES 2006 come new rumors that Dell is stockpiling AMD processors for use in its systems later this year, possibly even in the XPS 600 Renegade itself.
According to comments in a recent report by Les Santiago of market research firm Piper Jaffray, the company strongly believes that Dell will begin shipping PCs with AMD processors as early as the second half of 2006. The prediction outlined in the report comes after conversations with unnamed sources in the PC components industry, press releases which surfaced last fall indicating Dell partners in Asia were told to start working on AMD-based components, and recent AMD inventory shortages that may suggest Dell is purchasing vast quantities of chips.
While Dell refused to comment, Chairman Michael Dell told reporters at CES last week that adding computers with AMD processors to Dell"s product line "is a distinct possibility." The rumors have done well for AMD"s stock, which closed up almost four percent a share for the day.