Dell Launches Another AMD-Based PC

The new OptiPlex 740 comes with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor, and the new OptiPlex 320 runs on an Intel Pentium D processor. It was Dell's second announcement of an AMD-based product this week, following the launch of the Latitude 13L notebook running on an AMD Turion 64 or a lower-cost AMD Sempron mobile processor.

The new OptiPlex desktops feature Dell's energy efficiency technology and a more thermal-efficient BTX form factor, Dell said. The Round Rock, Texas-based company is pricing the Intel-based OptiPlex 320 at $585 and the AMD-based OptiPlex 740 at $725.

Dell is picking up the rate of product launches as it approaches its Nov. 16 earnings announcement next week. Many system builders and industry observers speculate that the company has received so many processors from AMD that it has created significant shortages in the channel.

In other announcements, Dell said it's rolling out a removable disk-based storage device, the PowerVault RD1000, in cartridges of 40, 80 and 120 Gbytes and ranging in price from $300 to $500 plus a series of PowerEdge servers and Precision workstations built with Intel Quad-Core Xeon processors.