AMD Tries to Close Gap in Chip Power Usage With Intel
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. may have at least temporarily thrown off a big burden in its struggle with Intel Corp., a longtime gap in power consumption between AMD chips and those of its larger rival.
AMD on Tuesday is unveiling its second product line that combines two once-separate classes of chip technology, this time targeting notebook PCs at mainstream price points. The new chips include graphics circuitry — good for chores like playing games and high-definition-movies — along with the microprocessor circuitry AMD has long offered for handling other computing chores.
Besides boosting performance, AMD says laptops using its new A-Series chips can run 3.5 hours more on a single charge than those using its prior technology.
“I think we’re really going to surprise the industry with how much we’ve improved the battery life,” Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager of AMD’s products group.
