HP ships its first Turion X2 Ultra notebooks

HP today became one of the first companies known to be shipping systems based on AMD's new Turion X2 Ultra processors and platform. The 14-inch Compaq 6535b and 15.4-inch Compaq 6735b are HP's flagships for workstations and pros and use the new architecture to support up to 8GB of DDR2 memory (with 64-bit operating systems) as well as give faster integrated graphics through the Mobility Radeon HD 3200.

Less expensive regular models are available, though the base models carrying the new AMD hardware both start at $1,079 with a 2.1GHz Turion X2 Ultra, 2GB of memory, a 120GB hard drive, and 802.11n Wi-Fi. Options exist for a VGA webcam as well as a Qualcomm Gobi modem that gives the notebooks 3G cellular Internet access through either AT&T when using HSPA or Sprint and Verizon for EVDO.

HP gives both systems the choice of FreeDOS to ease installing other operating systems, Windows Vista alone, or Vista with an XP Professional downgrade.