Dell has quietly started selling processors from Advanced Micro Devices, AMD, that range in speeds from 2.0GHz to 2.8GHz with price tags starting at $219.27 for the Athlon 64 3500+ to $1,102.91 for an Athlon 57-FX. AMD chips are still not available inside Dell PCs, however, is this quiet move a small glimpse of things to come?
On Thursday, Dell reported its third-quarter earnings, which fell to $606 million, or 25 cents per share, from $846 million, or 33 cents per share, a year earlier. Dell ended the fiscal third quarter with $12.3 billion in cash and investments.
So with the loss in the third quarter earnings, Dell could be looking for a way to bring new customers into the fold. "Is this the first step in bringing in AMD systems to the Dell market?" independent analyst Roger Kay asked rhetorically. That will depend on how much Dell succumbs to customer pressure, he then speculated.