Posted on Friday, February 22 2008 @ 1:45 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Asus allegedly placed a huge order for low-end AMD Sempron processors. DigiTimes
believes Asus may be working on a cheap AMD-based PC system:
Asustek has confirmed that it plans to support Intel's low-cost PC platform, Shelton'08, with the E-DT, however, the type of CPU and the size of the AMD order Asustek is said to have placed would be consistent with moves to develop an AMD-based alternative.
Estimates vary on the exact amount of CPUs procured, with some industry sources putting the figure as high as one million units. More conservative sources believe the amount falls within the 0.5-1 million range, while pointing out that a proportion of the CPUs may be destined for other Asustek product lines, and so may not entirely reflect the company's commitment to an AMD-based E-DT lineup.
On the other hand, some in the industry have dismissed the speculation saying that Asustek is unlikely to source CPUs from AMD at the risk of upsetting Intel. In support if this is the fact that AMD does not have a low-cost PC platform offering, which means Asustek would have to source the necessary chipsets and other components from a third-party such as Via Technologies or Silicon Integrated System (SiS).
One other theory proposed is that the entire speculation was seeded by Asustek deliberately in order to remind Intel that is is not the only shark in the CPU ocean, and that it can turn to Intel's competitors if it is not happy with the deal offered on Shelton'08 components.
