June 28, 2011, 4:06 PM — Laptops from top PC makers priced between US$500 and $700 and running on Advanced Micro Devices' latest A-series Fusion processors are on now on sale through online stores.
Laptops from Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Samsung, Acer and Lenovo come with dual- and quad-core A-series chips, code-named Llano, that AMD officially announced last month. The initial laptops are mostly designed to be desktop replacements and mainly targeted at consumers.
AMD's A-series chips integrate a CPU and Radeon graphics processor in a single chip. The microprocessors are faster and more power-efficient than their predecessors, providing the laptops with longer battery life while running applications and graphics faster. PC makers usually offer AMD and Intel chips to meet demand for multiple price points and laptop configurations.
HP last month announced a bevy of new laptops with AMD chips last month that are now becoming available. Best Buy is selling the HP Pavilion dv6, which is priced at $679 and runs on a quad-core A8 processor at a clock speed of 2.4GHz. The laptop includes a 15.6-inch display, 6GB of memory, a 640GB hard drive and two USB 3.0 ports. Weighing in at 2.72 kilograms (6 pounds), the laptop is a desktop replacement, but can provide up to five hours and 15 minutes of run-time with a six-cell battery, according to specifications on the retailer's website. J&R is selling a similar laptop for $699.
Another HP laptop is available from OfficeMax, which is selling the Pavilion G4-1116NR laptop for $649. The laptop has a 14-inch display, a quad-core A6-3400M chip with a clock speed of 2.3GHz, a 500GB hard drive and 4GB of memory. The laptop weighs 2.12 kilograms and runs for about 5 hours and 30 minutes with a six-cell battery.
HP has also listed new ProBooks for businesses with dual-core A4 processors on its website. The ProBook 4535S starts at $599, while the ProBook 6465B, starts at $679.
Office Depot is selling a Toshiba Satellite L775D-S7226 laptop for $699 with an A6-3400M processor. The laptop, with a 17.3-inch screen, weighs 2.81 kilograms, includes 6GB of RAM and a 640GB hard drive. The retailer is also selling a $549 Gateway NV55S02U laptop, which has the same A6 processor, a 15.6-inch screen, 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive. The laptop weighs 2.59 kilograms.
A Samsung Series3 with an A4 chip and 15.6-inch screen is listed on Provantage priced at $535. The retailer's site also lists a Lenovo Z575 -- most likely under the IdeaPad brand -- with an A4 processor priced at $527.
The laptops come with Windows 7 OS, and most include HDMI ports, optical drives and integrated webcams.
