Archive notice: This article was originally published on May 26, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
AMD announced today, Monday, the launch of its “AMD Game!” initiative, intended to make it easier for customers to select PCs suitable for high-definition gaming. Systems meeting the associated requirements and based on AMD processors will be marked with a label. Depending on performance, there will be the AMD Game! logo and, for especially powerful systems, the “AMD Game! Ultra” designation. In its challenge to Intel and Nvidia in the gaming-PC segment, AMD is relying on a broad range of partners, working with component manufacturers and peripheral suppliers as well as providers of complete PC systems.
AMD wants its labelling concept to score in the growing PC-gaming market, according to Jon Peddie Research. “With support from industry leaders in PC gaming, the designation ensures that consumers do not need hardware knowledge at an enthusiast level to arrive at an optimal gaming system,” explains Nigel Dessau, Senior Vice President and CMO at AMD. In practice, PC systems optimised for games will carry the logo. In addition to a powerful CPU, they must contain a graphics card capable of meeting the high demands of modern games. These two components must also genuinely match each other in performance. AMD aims to let customers recognise easily from the label whether a PC system meets their gaming requirements.
As part of the initiative, AMD says that various partner components will also be tested for their suitability for gaming PCs and labelled accordingly. These include motherboards from Asus, various power supplies for the high power requirements of gaming PCs, and keyboards, mice and other input devices from companies such as Logitech and Microsoft. There is, however, a challenge to Intel and Nvidia, as the CPUs and graphics cards for the labelled systems come from AMD itself. The AMD Game! logo for complete systems requires at least an Athlon X2 5600 dual-core CPU and an ATI Radeon HD 3650 graphics card. The higher-tier Ultra label requires at least a Phenom X4 9500 processor and an ATI Radeon HD 3850 graphics card.
Acer will be among the providers of AMD Game! systems. “PC gaming is an important area for Acer, and with AMD’s help we can meet customer expectations with a solid gaming experience,” says Patrick Cooper, Product Business Manager at Acer. Alienware, the gaming-PC specialist acquired by Dell in 2006, will also use AMD labels to make it easier for customers to choose the right system.
AMD provides further information on the logo programme and gaming in general at http://game.amd.com. At launch, online providers of AMD Game! systems in North America are listed there. Labelled systems are also expected to become available in US retail in the second half of the year. AMD confirmed to pressetext that the labels are intended to come to Europe as well, although when and exactly how this will be implemented had not yet been determined.
