Lenovo Ships First AMD-Based Desktop PC

Lenovo on Wednesday rolled out its first Advanced Micro Devices-based desktop PC, which is being targeted at small businesses.

The Lenovo 3000 J115, built on AMD's socket AM2 platform, is powered by an Athlon 64 X2 dual-core chip and is enabled for Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista operating system, according to the Raleigh, N.C.-based PC maker. Starting at a list price of $599, the system can be configured with 4 Gbytes of DDR2 memory and a 250-Gbyte hard drive, and it can support a 500-Gbyte hard drive.

The move is the latest win for AMD in its effort to grab and hold onto market share against rival Intel. Previously, Lenovo didn't offer a PC with an Athlon 64 chip in the United States.

Since acquiring IBM's PC business last year, Lenovo has stepped up its efforts to build up share in the North American SMB market. Lenovo and rival Dell have set their sights on the segment because of its growth potential and highly fragmented market share. Both companies, too, recently began adopting AMD-based processors after previously pursuing an Intel-only strategy

Earlier this month, Dell announced two new desktops powered by AMD Sempron and Athlon 64 processors. Both systems carry an entry list price of less than $400.