AMD 45W Athlon II X2, X3 & X4 CPUs Due Next Week

High performance CPUs may grab headlines, but it's mid-tier, mildly frugal chips that grab sales.  That's why AMD's upcoming 45W TDP desktop chips are so important; according to Fudzilla, the new Athlon II X2, X3 and X4 processors are expected to begin shipping next week, with the entry-level dual-core 2.93GHz Athlon II X2 245e tipped to be around €79 ($101) and followed by a 3GHz Athlon II X2 250e.

Meanwhile the triple-core 2.5GHz Athlon II X3 415e will be priced at €100 ($128), and be followed in short order by the quad-core 2.5GHz Athlon II X4 610e.  That's expected to land for €140 ($179) initially, though price reductions are predicted to bring it more in-line with the 2.5GHz 605e which has a street price of around €100.  The frugal chips will be accompanied by the 65W TDP 3.2GHz Athlon II X2 260, at €75 ($96), but beyond that AMD are predicted to only ramp up clock speeds progressively – roughly 100MHz per quarter – until a more significant design refresh in late 2010.

[via Expreview]