No more AMD Powered Dells!

http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/07/dell-stops-selling-amd-powered-machines-online/

"Our tip jar, it overfloweth -- tons of you have written in to say that Dell's stopped selling AMD-powered machines in its online store. That means any of you looking for a Latitude D531, Vostro 1000 or OptiPlex 740 will have to truck it out to Best Buy, Staples, or Wal-Mart to get your low-end business fix. Of course, the overwhelming majority of Dell's business is done online, so cutting the AMD selection down to three cut-price models only available at big box stores sends a pretty clear message about Dell's processor selection in the future -- any bets on how long they last?"

 

It's a sinking hole for AMD

 

I hope AMD keeps going, offering an alternative to Intel.

 

Wow, that was shortlived, I really like the AMD powered models, and was going to get a Latitude D531 for the longest time before Dell lowered D630 prices in the outlet.

 

Btw, can you get a Dell D630 with a battery that doesn't stick out the front? And do you mind it much?

 

Ha, I have an AMD Dell! Yeah, I agree with pix, an alternative is good.

 

Put that piece on eBay. People pay ungodly amounts on eBay for things that are "rare".

 

hmmm, you think so? maybe...
I think it would be fun to upgrade it to 2 GB of RAM sometime... anyway, i want to get a custom notebook made sometime. maybe 2009...

 

Yep, sure can, it's a six cell but still manages pretty good battery wise-add one to the modular bay and you can go on for a long time.
I like the front mounted battery-It looks better than the HP ones that place the laptop at an angle, also it has a almost rubbery upper part that actually isn't that bad to rest your wrists on.

Actually they still offer the Vostro 1000, Latitude and OptiPlex systems, just checked Dell's site again.

 

Whenever I try to do that, I can't access a lot of pages for some reason. Makes me so mad!

 

How could they miss the Inspiron 1501? That is dedicated with AMD CPU and I still see it being sold online on Dell's website.

 

Is this bigger news than the fact that I (me!) would never buy a notebook with an AMD in it because up to now, there has never been a mobile AMD that was faster, cooler or more power efficient than an Intel mobile processor? Or is it that I'm just full of myself? Seems like big news to me. Oh, Dell sells desktops, too? Do they still stock them with that memory you can only get from Dell for 4 times the cost of similarly performing memory you could get anywhere?

 

As much as I love AMD, with laptops, it truly doesnt matter to me what processor I'll get. lol

Tis a bad omen for AMD though =/

 

amd definitely dropped the ball on cpu tech, especially on the notebook side. bought an amd notebook and it runs really hot and the fan is constantly on - very annoying. now using an xps 1330 c2d and it runs cool and quiet.

 

In Europe you can still get the Inspiron 1721, the Vostro 1000 and the Latitude 531.

 

Fake news... Someone please close this thread? lol....

 

Yah this is bogus, I just checked dell.com and they're deffinately still selling AMD Procs.

 

AMD are concentrating on desktop and server chips. They never really 'got' laptop requirements. Missed the timing a bit when laptops were becoming more popular than desktops and they pushed 64-bit computing at the wrong time (for laptops).

I hope AMD do remain in the mobile sector, but they are going to have to offer significant advantage over Intel's excellent Core2Duo line, especially as Penryn is now reaching market.

I love AMD. I've always been a big fan and supporter of their chips since the days of the K6-2. I would love to have an AMD CPU in my laptop, especially for running a 64bit OS as I have nagging suspicions that AMD's x64 is somewhat better (and faster) than Intel's x64.

Still, Windows 7 is a long way off and AMD could bounce back in the time given (my point being the likely 64-bit dependence of Windows 7), surprising us all.

My next desktop (if I ever get one) will have an AMD CPU.

 

Dell had a great deal on a Turion-based Insipron laptop over Christmas for something like $350, and even though I'm not a fan of AMD much these days, I thought that was a great deal - a LOT better deal than some vendors I saw pushing Pentium laptops in the $600 ballpark.

AMD had a great run just a few years ago, but somehow lost their way and never quite recovered. They have been hemmorhaging high-end tech people from their staff for a time, and many of their most recent CPU/technology offerings have hit the market with a decided "thud." Seems like there would be great rumors of the next great "killer architecture" from them, but then nothing would get released, or release would be delayed, and no one could get performance specs, or what was released didn't bode very well against what was promised.

Sadly, I recall seeing AMD on a list of tech companies that may not be around this time next year.

-David

 

Intel pretty much stole AMD's 64bit extensions to add to their own.

Love AMD or hate them they are good for business. Intel are slowing up now that AMD has fallen behind - delaying the newer quads because theres no real competition. And prices are remaining higher due to less competition.

I for one hope AMD get their act together and their fabs down soon so a little more market pressure will be asserted to Intel. On a technology point Intel are going to need a new architecture soon whereas AMD just need to start churning out theirs at .45nm.

AMD also suffered by taking on ATI when they did - they had fought and gained the upperhand on Intel in terms of performance but the ATI acquisition took their eye off the ball.

They'll be back

 

More information about this:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/08/dell-further-clarifies-how-and-where-its-dropping-amd/

"So we just got off the phone with Dell's reps, and they told us that Dell remains committed to AMD -- which has been their message for most of the day, following the graphic above popping up yesterday on Dell.com that said AMD machines were only available at retail. That's still pretty murky, so we pressed a little harder and got some more details:

* It's not at all clear why the AMD graphic went up -- Dell's still trying to figure it out, but they've pulled it for now.
* That said, AMD-powered consumer machines will only be in stores from now on, except for the Energy Star-compliant Inspiron D531 desktop and the soon-to-be-canceled Inspiron 1501 notebook.
* AMD-powered business machines in the OptiPlex, Vostro, and Latitude lines will still be available online.
* Dell is "sincere" when it says that this is all the result of trying to figure out the best product mix for consumers -- it's only been in retail since May, and it's trying to find "the best way to get products to people in the way people want them."
* They wouldn't explain why consumers wouldn't want to continue to get AMD-powered machines online, but told us that "anything could happen." That seems pretty duplicitous to us, actually -- they've clearly taken choices away from their customers with this move, and trying to patch things up with vague future possibilities doesn't change that.
* The Inspiron 1526 laptop was specifically cited as proof of Dell's commitment to AMD, since it's a mainstream laptop that's basically the same as the Intel-based 1525. Of course, it's almost impossible to find a 1526 for under $800, while the 1525 starts at $499; wait, isn't AMD supposed to be the budget option?
* Dell is selling AMD machines in 10,000 stores worldwide, which they also cited as proof of their commitment. However, when you search for AMD models like the 1526 on Dell.com (cap below), there's zero information available, which doesn't seem like real commitment to us -- but what do we know?

* We asked if Dell would ever use a more powerful AMD chip like the Phenoms, and got a "no comment."
* Of the laptops being pulled from the Dell site, we were told that "we're talking about one desktop and two laptops here," which seems like a pretty dismissive way to downplay what's clearly a net negative for Dell's customers and a totally bungled product reshuffle.

So that's that -- we're still half-convinced that something deep went down yesterday, but for now all you really need to know is that Dell basically botched the execution in deciding that AMD will be de-emphasized and made part of its lower-end offline sales. Maybe things will change if AMD ever gets its house back in order, but we'll see how that plays out in the future."

 

Competition is a good thing. If AMD falls too far behind it could lead to higher prices. My desktop is AMD(still running the 939 Mobo ). I was hoping to pick up a laptop for my wife, and I thought the Vostro 1000 was a good budget choice. I have a Vostro 1500, and I am impressed by the solid construction. Hopefully the AMD powered 1000 hangs around as a budget choice.