Microprocessors from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) are once again taking a prominent place in PCs manufactured by Fujitsu Siemens Computers GmbH, the companies announced Tuesday.
Fujitsu-Siemens launched the Esprimo E small form-factor PC and Esprimo P tower in the second quarter, but only with Intel Corp. processors. Now the German PC maker is taking orders for Esprimo E and P models with AMD processors, and will ship them at the end of the month to customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to Fujitsu-Siemens spokeswoman Sabine Twest.
The launch of the new models comes just two weeks after AMD accused Intel of using its influence with PC manufacturers to shut AMD out of the market.
In a lawsuit filed June 28 in the U.S., AMD wrote that its chips once powered over 30 percent of Fujitsu-Siemens’ consumer PCs, but that in early 2003, “Intel offered Fujitsu-Siemens a ‘special discount’ on Celeron processors which Fujitsu-Siemens accepted in exchange for hiding its AMD computers on its website and removing all references to commercial AMD-powered products in the company’s retail catalog.”
As of Tuesday, however, PCs with AMD processors had top billing on the front page of the Fujitsu-Siemens Web site.
The timing of the launch is unconnected with AMD’s lawsuit, according to Twest, who pointed to AMD’s plans to announce its quarterly results on Wednesday as a more likely trigger for the announcement. “Our new product development with AMD is a long process,” she said.
The Esprimo E is priced from