AMD may have pulled the ultimate coup by hiring Santa Claus as a salesman. Or so it seems by looking at HP's desktop PC online store where AMD-based products have sold out. High demand has cleared HP of 2.2GHz Athlon64-based systems and kit running on the 1.8GHz Semprons. Intel-based gear remains up for grabs across the board.

Is this AMD's fault for not supplying enough chips? Not according to HP, which has seen customers flock to the AMD-based systems.

"Demand has greatly exceeded supply this holiday season, and we're working hard to make them available again soon," a HP spokeswoman told El Reg.

HP's main rival Dell has long held out as an Intel-only shop, claiming that it will make the switch to offer AMD parts when enough customers beg for the products. Well, they appear to be begging someone for the gear.

The two popular models in question are the Pavilion a1130e and a1100e.

AMD's 64-bit processor line has helped it gain ground against Intel, particularly in the server market where Opteron has managed to capture more than 10 per cent of the x86 market share in just two years.

HP reckons it's in the midst of a "really incredible" holiday shopping season, which should, in the end, be good news for both chipmakers. ®