Tech Shout!

Dell, which has used only Intel processors until now, has now decided to incorporate AMD Opteron chips in one of its high-end servers.

In a statement Dell said, “In the enterprise, we will launch new ninth generation servers featuring Intel’s Woodcrest microprocessors. Dell will also introduce new AMD Opteron processors in our multiprocessor servers by the end of the year offering a great new technology to our customers at the high-end of our server line.”

No further information about Dell’s plans for the Opteron were revealed, however.

Dell CEO Kevin Rollins said that it was a fairly small category and so it was not an abandoning of the deal between Intel and Dell.

That was not to say that Dell would not use AMD chips in its PCs or other servers in the future, but whatever happened, Intel would remain number one, he said.

Until May 19, 2006, Dell had a policy of only selling computers with Intel processors, and did not offer AMD-based systems.

Out of all the PC products that Dell was planning this year all of them will use Intel chips, but he didn’t say what would happen next year.

Rollins said that Dell had not shifted to AMD in its server products sooner because it had been “waiting to see what its customers who bought its servers wanted”.

“AMD was very successful, so we are using it,” he said.

AMD senior vice president Marty Seyer said he was pleased to see Dell “listening to their customers” and offering them the choice of AMD products.

The lack of AMD based systems has undoubtedly cost Dell some sales of higher-end desktop systems, especially in the content-creation field, where benchmarks show AMD processors function better for most render-intensive 64-bit applications.

Dell’s chief rival, Hewlett-Packard, has offered A.M.D. chips for a decade; they are used in more than 30 of its PC and server product lines. Analysts say the A.M.D. chips have given Hewlett’s customers more choice over price and performance.