Dell unveils AMD-based desktop

Dell's OptiPlex 740 uses AMD Athlon processors

Dell has launched its first desktop computer based on AMD processors. 

The new Athlon and Athlon X2 powered Dell OptiPlex 740 targets enterprises, and marks a next step in the system maker's transition to AMD powered systems.

Dell unveiled an AMD Opteron server earlier this year, and last week started shipping a laptop powered by AMD chips.

The vendor said on its website that the OptiPlex 740 offers the flexibility to meet diverse user demands. The systems are capable of running Windows Vista Premium and feature four memory slots.

Dell's website claims that the new system will support either 4Gb or 8Gb of Ram. The latter figure would only benefit the 64-bit version of Windows Vista.

The most basic configuration with a Athlon 64 2.2GHz processor, 512Mb of memory and 160Gb hard drive sells at $725.

Dell is the last major hardware vendor to adopt AMD processors. The company will not create AMD-based versions of each of its servers, but will use the chip where it sees a benefit.

The company has said that it will consider alternative architectures and components based on customer demand. The system builder does not plan to create Intel and AMD versions of each product.