CES, LAS VEGAS – January 8, 2009 – Empowering consumers to get elite-level computing performance for under $900 U.S. dollars2, AMD (NYSE:AMD) today launched \u201cDragon\u201d platform technology for desktop PCs featuring the new AMD Phenom\u2122 II X4 processor. Even the most demanding users such as enthusiasts and high-end gamers desire affordable systems capable of delivering HD entertainment, graphic-intensive game play at the highest settings their monitors can handle, as well as quick and easy transfer of video entertainment to and from mobile devices. Dragon platform technology provides the power to do it all by combining AMD\u2019s highest-performing CPU, the AMD Phenom II X4 processor, with award winning ATI Radeon\u2122 HD 4800 Series graphics and AMD 7-Series chipsets. And it\u2019s offered at an incredible value with Dragon-based systems available for up to $1,200 U.S. dollars less than competing systems that deliver comparable performance.1<\/p>\n
Leading global PC manufacturer HP plans to offer Dragon platform technology-based desktop systems in the near future.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reviews Celebrate \u201cDragon\u201d price-performance leadership and headroom
\nInitial PC hardware review community assessments of Dragon platform technology and the AMD Phenom II X4 processor are notably positive and enthusiastic:
\n– \u201cAs a result of its exceptional energy efficiency advances and an affordable price\/performance ratio, AMD Phenom II X4 deserves our seldom-granted Recommended Buy award.\u201d \u2013 Tom’s Hardware3
\n– \u201cThe Phenom II puts AMD back in the running right in the middle of the enthusiast PC market, where price and performance converge in solid value.\u201d – Scott Wasson of The Tech Report4
\n– \u201cThe new Phenom II X4 920 and 940 are easily the most powerful desktop processors released from AMD to date. We get the feeling these first two Phenom II X4 processors are just the tip of the iceberg.\u201d – Marco Chiappetta of HotHardware.com5<\/p>\n
Massive Headroom
\nThe heart of Dragon platform technology is the AMD Phenom II X4 processor featuring intelligent multi-core technology that automatically provides processing power where it\u2019s needed most during multitasking among demanding applications. Offering frequencies up to 3.0 GHz with significant headroom for overclocking,6 AMD Phenom II CPUs give consumers the power to use their favorite productivity, HD gaming and multimedia applications without skipping a beat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Dragon platform technology, AMD is changing the desktop industry landscape by offering affordable performance and maximum headroom for gaming, video editing, and other media-intensive tasks,\u201d said Leslie Sobon, vice president of product marketing, AMD. \u201cThrough our Fusion platform approach, AMD is able to deliver CPUs, GPUs and chipsets that work better together to meet the industry\u2019s evolving needs today and well into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond HD
\nATI Radeon HD 4800 series graphics and AMD 7-series chipsets enable Dragon platform technology to deliver a superior visual experience by giving consumers the ability to enjoy smooth video, brilliant images and immersive games. The platform offers fast DirectX\u00ae 10 graphics to improve integrated graphics processor performance, and ATI Radeon HD 4800 series graphics give consumers the ultimate gaming experience, even at the highest game settings on display resolutions beyond HD, limited only by the resolution of their monitors.
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\n\u201cAMD is known for bringing fantastic hardware innovations to market in a way that allows consumers to enjoy new experiences and take full advantage of the gaming capabilities that DirectX delivers,\u201d said Walt McGraw, director of Windows Gaming for Microsoft. \u201cThe new Dragon platform technology is another great example of AMD driving the kind of platform technology robustness and scalability that today\u2019s PC users demand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Energy Efficiency Elite Performance for Less Money Availability and Phenom II Processor Pricing About AMD CES, LAS VEGAS – January 8, 2009 – Empowering consumers to get elite-level computing performance for under $900 U.S. dollars2, AMD (NYSE:AMD) today launched \u201cDragon\u201d platform technology for desktop PCs featuring the new AMD Phenom\u2122 II X4 processor. Even the most demanding users such as enthusiasts and high-end gamers desire affordable systems capable of delivering<\/p>\n
\nDragon platform technology enables manufacturers to design and develop PCs that deliver performance when you need it while saving power when you don\u2019t. AMD Phenom II CPUs feature AMD Cool’n’Quiet\u2122 3.0 which automatically provides dramatic power management improvements with minimal performance impact.7\u00a0 Its efficient multi-core design offers low processor temperatures and quiet fans, even when computing in HD.
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\nFree Software Supercharging
\nConsumers can take performance to the next level with free software from AMD.\u00a0 Download all now at: http:\/\/game.amd.com\/us-en\/drivers_catalyst.aspx<\/a>.
\n*\u00a0 AMD Fusion for Gaming8 — Easy-to-use program that, with a single click, automatically suspends resource consuming background tasks to focus more system performance on gaming.
\n*\u00a0 AMD OverDrive\u21229 — Highly-customizable utility with greater functionality that can help power-users take system performance even further, with advanced over-clocking controls that can be turned on and off with a single click.
\n*\u00a0 ATI Catalyst\u2122 with ATI Stream technology — Version 8.12 and later automatically merges the power of the CPU and GPU to enable a growing number of applications, such as ArcSoft TotalMedia\u2122 Theater and CyberLink PowerDirector 7, to run dramatically faster than when using the CPU alone.
\n*\u00a0 ATI Video Converter — With the latest Catalyst Driver 8.12, the new ATI Video Converter utilizes the graphics processor and ATI Stream technology to quickly and easily convert your videos to play on portable entertainment devices much faster than converting video using a microprocessor alone.
\n*\u00a0 AMD Fusion Media Explorer Beta — Simplifies the entertainment experiencing by enabling a simple but powerful way for consumers to interact with their music, photos, movies, TV and social media on their PC. This utility offers one-button postings of photos to Facebook\u2122 accounts as well as automatic related media searches when the system is online, plus much more.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nEnd users can experience high-end performance with Dragon platform technology from AMD, all while spending approximately $1,200 U.S. dollars less than competitive offerings.10 Dragon platform technology consisting of the new AMD Phenom II X4 processor, ATI Radeon\u2122 HD 4870 1GB graphics card, the AMD 790GX motherboard and 4 GB of DDR2-1066 memory can be purchased for approximately $900 USD. By comparison, a competitive platform consisting of an Intel Core i7 3.2 GHz, x58 motherboard, 3 GB of DDR3-1333 memory and the same GPU can be purchased for just over $2100.11 Both platforms run the most demanding PC games like Crysis\u2122 at elite performance levels, and deliver comparable Crysis benchmark frame rates at an average of 38 frames per second.12<\/p>\n
\nConsumers can expect to see systems featuring Dragon platform technology from leading system builders and OEMs in the first quarter of 2009. In addition to Dragon platform technology-based offerings from AMD\u2019s OEM partners, PC enthusiasts who enjoy building their own systems can search \u201cDragon\u201d on popular e-tail sites such as newegg.com and tigerdirect.com to find special promotions on this new desktop PC platform.
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\nIn addition to Dragon platform technology, individual AMD Phenom II X4 processors will be available from AMD channel e-tailers at launch:
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition processor \u2013 (3.0GHz) \u2013 $275 MSRP
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 AMD Phenom II X4 920 processor \u2013 (2.8GHz) \u2013 $235 MSRP
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\nFor additional processor pricing details, please visit www.amd.com\/pricing<\/a>. For press collateral pertaining to Dragon platform technology and the new AMD Phenom II X4 processors including product specifications, images and partner support, please visit http:\/\/www.amd.com\/Dragon\/presskit<\/a><\/p>\n
\nAdvanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play. For more information, visit http:\/\/www.amd.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"