Dell Announces Role for AMD

Not so long ago, Infopackets reported on Dell's surprising announcement to step away from its long-time allegiance to Intel microprocessors by incorporating a line of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) chips. The move was largely regarded as a desperate kind of diversification, as both Dell and AMD sought to use each other after pitiful second quarter results.

Today, Infopackets has learned that Dell has made its latest announcement on the AMD deal by reportedly ordering 2 million AMD PCs for its fall lineup. (Source: news.com)

According to a Bank of America financial analyst, Dell has requested between 1 and 1.2 million desktop machines from AMD, with an additional 800,000 notebooks to follow.

Details first emerged Thursday, when mutual sources from manufacturers in Taiwan began spreading the word. The numbers themselves are quite significant, meaning that Dell has granted AMD between 15 and 16 percent of its desktop lineup along with an estimated 18 to 19 percent of its notebook supply.

Although the current arrangement between Dell and AMD calls for the latter to supply just a four-processor server, CNET.com is reporting that the deal could be significantly expanded (likely depending on the success of the AMD-Dell wares this fall).

The AMD announcement acts as an appropriate smokescreen as Dell tries to avoid attracting too much attention to its massive recall of faulty notebook batteries. Two days ago it launched an official return request of some 4.1 million batteries, the largest recall in electronics history. (Source: news.com)