In less than a month time Advanced Micro Devices is expected to introduce a new dual-core AMD Athlon X2 chip priced at as low as $345, which is likely to catalyze customers to acquire chips with two processing engines from AMD and will allow the chipmaker to target broader audiences with its latest products.

According to Taiwan-based mainboard makers cited by DigiTimes web-site, on the 1^st of August, 2005, AMD has plans to launch a dual-core AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor priced at $345, which is significantly lower compared to the currently most affordable AMD Athlon 64 X2 model 4200+. The web-site reports that the new Athlon 64 X2 will have 3800+ model number, but may also hint that AMD is yet to launch its Athlon 64 X2 4000+ incarnation as well, which would expand AMD’s dual-core lineup to six models.

AMD’s desktop and desktop replacement notebooks-oriented Athlon 64 X2 central processing units (CPUs) with 4200+, 4400+, 4600+ model numbers operate at 2.20 – 2.40GHz and are equipped with 1MB or 2MB cache memory. The chips have special arbitration logic to balance the workflow called System Request Interface (SRI) as well as built-in PC3200 DDR memory controller.

While performance AMD Athlon 64 X2 central processing units in applications that cannot take advantage of two processing engines is on par with AMD’s high-end AMD Athlon 64 chips, pricing of AMD microprocessors with two processing engines starts at $537 and goes right to $1001. By contrast, Intel’s dual-core Pentium D chips offer lower performance compared to top Intel Pentium 4 processors in single-threaded apps, but their wholesale pricing starts at $241 and ends at $530. Intel also offers Pentium Extreme Edition 840 processor at $999 for powerful workstations. AMD’s possible addition of a dual-core processor model that may be compared to Intel’s dual-core products in terms of pricing is likely to heat up competition between the chipmakers.

Specifications of the AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ are not currently clear.

AMD did not comment on the news-story.