AMD has begun shipping 64-bit Sempron processors in a bid to counter Intel's launch of 64-bit Celeron chips earlier this month.

Overnight, five Sempron desktop chips were added to AMD's official price list: the 2600+, 2800+, 3000+, 3100+ and 3300+. All five chips are Socket 754 parts, and were already available as 32-bit products, as per the Sempron standard up until this point.

Indeed, since the Socket 754 Semprons are essentially AMD64 chips with parts of the L2 cache and 64-bit processing disabled, it was undoubtedly relatively easy for AMD to make the move.

Support for 64-bit processing comes at a small premium: while the model numbers are identical, the 64-bit versions of a given Sempron CPU are between $3 and $6 more expensive than the 32-bit incarnations. In each case they are still cheaper than the Socket A variants.

The 2600+, 2800+, 3000+, 3100+ and 3300+ cost $74, $83, $98, $113 and $140, respectively. Prices are per processor in batches of 1000 chips. ®

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