Earlier today we stumbled upon Acer's Aspire 5553G, a 15.6-inch laptop based on AMD's quad-core Phenom II X4 N930. A few more listings of upcoming Acer models with the new Phenom were brought to our attention by one of our colleagues and it turns out the new quad will also be featured in the 17-inch Aspire 7551G.

However, it also appears that Acer will also introduce a three-core part on new Aspire models, both in the 17-inch and 15.6-inch flavor. The Phenom X3 N830 is clocked at 2.1GHz and it should end up a bit cheaper than the quad. It will be featured alongside HD 5470 graphics in both the Aspire 7551G and 5551G, but on the upside tri-core models will end up around €100 cheaper. You can check out the listings here.

Although AMD's mobile quads and tri-cores are unlikely to match the performance delivered by Intel's Core-series quads, it's worth noting that the price difference is staggering. Judging by these early listings, laptops based on AMD quads will end up around €150 cheaper than similar models powered by Intel's entry level Core i7 parts. As for the tri-cores, they sound like an equally good deal, as they will probably be available in the €600 to €700 price range.

It's an interesting proposition. For example, consumers will be able to choose between Intel's 2.13GHz Core i3 with integrated graphics and a similarly clocked Phenom II X3 with an extra core. Intel will offer superior power efficiency due to the 32nm process, while AMD will offer superior graphics and potentially better performance in threaded applications.

Also read:

Quad Phenoms tip up in Acer, Dell notebooks