Where in the netbook world is AMD?

Since the introduction of the Intel Atom CPU netbooks have gained in popularity considerably. For the first time you can go get a reasonably powerful laptop for under $300. AMD, however, has been under the radar on the ultra-portable front.

AMD over the past few years has been the dominating force on low to mid range CPUs and is the first manufacturer to have a sub-$100 quad core CPU. This brings up the question, “Why doesn’t AMD have a low voltage-moderate performance CPU for netbooks?” Well folks all I can say is, it’s coming. AMD is rolling out the Athlon Neo which is currently available in the HP Dv2z notebook which is an ultra-thin 12.1 inch laptop with a dedicated GPU.

The Athlon Neo will perform on par with the Atom in certain configurations and will soon be available in multi-core configurations and in low-cost netbooks similar to the 8.9 inch Acer Aspire One which retails now for $299. One big advantage and disadvantage that AMD will have is that their partnership with ATI will ensure a higher end GPU will be paired in their netbooks and thus will increase overall performance. This does come, on the other hand, with some draw-backs. Perhaps the biggest draw-back is battery life which will be drastically affected due to the extra power needed by the GPU. Another draw-back will be the extra heat created which means more noise and more weight.

Only time will tell if the Neo will trump the Atom but it will definitely force Intel to up the ante and competition is sure to drive down prices on both sides.

via Where in the netbook world is AMD? ~ Musso.