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Lenovo intros ThinkCentre M78 with AMD A-Series APU and a starting price of $449
There's never a bad time for computer makers to update any part of their extensive PC lineup, and today marks Lenovo's turn to introduce a new tower as part of its voluminous M Series. With the addition of this ThinkCentre M78, the Chinese outfit is touting the adoption of AMD's hot-off-the-press A-Series processors as one of the desktop's main features, plus there's also the inclusion of four USB 3.0 ports, the ability to add up to 32GB of DDR3 memory and support for as many as three monitors simultaneously -- all of which, according to Lenovo, make for a very "reliable PC with powerful performance, a high level of security and energy efficiency." Better yet, perhaps, is the ThinkCentre M78's decent starting price point of 449 bucks, with units expected to start shipping this month from Lenovo's own website and other third-party retailers.
AMD FX-4130 delivers 3.8GHz quad-core on a budget, A-Series chips get even cheaper
If you're building a starter desktop to get ready for school, you'll be glad to know that AMD is squeaking just a little more value for the dollar out of its processors. The new quad-core FX-4130 takes a 200MHz hop forward from its predecessor to a 3.8GHz base speed, and ramps up to 3.9GHz if it's feeling frisky. While it's thirstier than the earlier FX-4100 at 125W of maximum power draw, the unlocked chip's $112 retail cost is a potential sweet spot for those tailoring a system to a strict price. Anyone willing to trade overclocking support for yet more of a savings will be glad to know that AMD has been slashing the prices of its Fusion-based A-Series chips at the same time: the across-the-board cuts bring even the 2.9GHz A8-3850 down to $91. No breaks exist here for the performance crowd, alas, but AMD's new proposition might be just the excuse needed to build that budget Windows 8 PC.
