AMD is launching a handful of processors today aimed at offering good value for budget conscious buyers. The new lineup consists specifically of three Athlon II and two Phenom II parts -- in dual, triple and quad-core flavors -- all of which deliver slight clock bumps over their predecessors without pushing prices upward, thanks to improvements in Global Foundries' 45nm process.

The highlight of the bunch is the Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition, which runs at 3.2GHz and is touted by the company as its fastest dual-core desktop processor to date. It carries a thousand-unit price tag of just $99, which sounds reasonable enough, and a TDP of 80W. The 2.9GHz Athlon II X4 635 becomes the fastest chip in the quad-core Athlon II line, supplanting the 2.8GHz Athlon II X4 630 at around $120 and drawing 65W of power.

Processor	Cores	Speed	L2 cache	L3 cache	TDP	Price
Phenom II X4 910e	4	2.6 GHz	2 MB	6 MB	65 W	$169
Phenom II X2 555 BE	2	3.2 GHz	1 MB	6 MB	80 W	$99
Athlon II X4 635	4	2.9 GHz	2 MB	--	95 W	$119
Athlon II X3 440	3	3.0 GHz	1.5 MB	--	95 W	$84
Athlon II X2 255	2	3.1 GHz	1 MB	--	65 W	$74

The company is also introducing the 3.1GHz Athlon II X2 255 priced at $74, the triple-core Athlon II X3 440 at 3GHz for $84, and a 65W full-blown Phenom II X4 910e quad-core clocked at 2.6GHz for $169. Full specs for AMD's newly released processors can be found in the table above, while benchmark information comparing these new parts to their closest Intel competition is available over at Anandtech.