Lenovo Quietly Unveils AMD-Based ThinkCentre Desktops

by Anton Shilov
08/14/2006 | 10:10 PM

Lenovo, the company behind ThinkPad and ThinkCentre brands which acquired PC division of IBM, has quietly unveiled its new A60-series desktops, which are powered by processors from Advanced Micro Devices. Historically, ThinkPad and ThinkCentre laptop and desktop computers featured chip by Intel Corp.

“Our new ThinkCentre A60 with AMD processors, coupled with our ThinkVantage Technologies, expands the range of flexible and innovative solutions available to our customers through the ThinkCentre lineup,” said Thomas Tobul, executive director, global desktop marketing, for Lenovo.

At press time the company offered three ThinkCentre A60 models: Economy, Value and performance priced at $379, $559 and $629. Unlike expected, Lenovo did not offer any A60-series computers powered by AMD Athlon X2 processors, but currently offers only machines running entry-level or mainstream AMD Sempron and AMD Athlon 64 microprocessors powered by Nvidia nForce 6100 core-logic.

All AMD-based desktops come in mini-tower or desktop cases, while Intel-powered computers by Lenovo may come in various form-factors, including differently-sized towers or desktops.

“Lenovo has had a formal relationship with AMD for several years in China and we are simply extending the use of AMD in our portfolio outside China to better meet customer needs. The introduction of Lenovo 3000 products with AMD technology in February 2006 was the first step to expand the relationship to new offerings and new customer sets around the world. We are offering our customers even more choice now with the first worldwide Think-branded PC with AMD technology,” Mr. Tobul added.

IBM ThinkCentre computers have been pretty popular among large enterprises and organizations in the U.S., after acquisition of IBM’s ThinkPad and ThinkCentre brands, those computers remained well accepted among the clients. However, neither Lenovo, nor any other tier-one makers of business computers used AMD central processing units (CPUs) in their offerings designed for large business clients.

Currently Lenovo has A-series and M-series ThinkCentre desktop computers, which are tailored for businesses and enterprises, respectively. The company also had E-series desktops, which were targeted at small businesses, but it has discontinued the product family.

At press time Lenovo’s web-site in the U.S. did not contain any press statements regarding the matter of AMD-based desktops, even though the computers were offered.