HP this week unveiled its first PC system-series powered by AMD Athlon 64 processors. The Compaq Presario 8000Z is a leading-edge digital media PC for home or office use bringing 64-bit power at an affordable price.

The innovative HP Compaq Presario 8000Z unveiled at Comdex trade-show earlier this week are priced starting from $1239 for a machine with AMD Athlon 64 3200+ microprocessor, 256MB of PC3200 memory, RADEON 9200 128MB graphics card, Windows XP Home Edition and one year limited warranty on hardware parts and labor. The PC is available directly from HP as well as its retail partners now. The computer is generally intended for entertainment, but is available at much lower price-point compared to specifically tailored systems for hardcore gamers, HP said.

Additionally, HP released its Compaq X gaming computers powered by Intel Pentium 4 processors and featuring NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultra-based graphics cards on Monday. The company will sell them at much higher prices compared to Presario computers. Currently HP does not utilize Pentium 4 Extreme Edition or AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 chips in its PCs for gamers or SOHO clients, as the company considers such CPUs to be too expensive. Nevertheless, the firm may change its mind in mid-2004, when it makes future decisions concerning its plans for gaming PCs.

With this week’s introductions, HP is now ready to provide enough choice for home users seeking for a new personal computer at a price-point from $1000 to $3000 during holiday season.

Palo Alto, California-based HP is among the first tier-one PC makers on the planet to adopt the new Athlon 64 processor from Advanced Micro Devices. Traditionally, AMD’s chips are first utilized in Compaq Presario product line. Another big design win with HP for the world’s second microprocessor maker is some HP business desktop PCs equipped with 32-bit AMD Athlon XP chips.