Quad core considered too much for the average user.
AMD is planning to release a triple-core desktop processor.
The chip joins AMD's current dual-core processor and a forthcoming quad core desktop processor line.
The triple-core processor features the same design as the quad-core model. Both are part of the architecture codenamed Phenom that is scheduled to start shipping in the first quarter of next year.
Intel is currently the only chip maker offering quad-core desktop processors. The firm has made no public mention of plans to ship a triple-core processor. A company spokesperson declined to comment when asked if the firm was preparing such a product.
Triple-core processors are appealing because their quad-core peers are too powerful for the average desktop, AMD argued. Market share data indicates that quad-core processors have captured less than 2 per cent of the desktop market.
"Our native mutli-core design will deliver a more seamless array of products," Bob Brewer, AMD's corporate vice president for marketing and strategy said during a meeting with reporters in San Francisco.
"It will serve a broader swath of the market."
An alternative explanation to the limited demand for quad-core processors could be found in Intel's pricing. The firm currently prices the chips at a significant premium over less dual-core models, although prices have dropped rapidly over the past months.
The average user furthermore won't have much benefit from four cores, argued AMD. Most of today's software is designed for execution on a single thread or processor core. The few exceptions, mostly games, will often use a maximum of two cores. While a security scan from anti virus software can take up a third process, the fourth core will typically sit idle.
A triple-core chip furthermore would be smaller, decreasing the chance of defects during manufacturing. The resulting increase in chip yields will boost revenues.
AMD declined to address pricing or clock speeds for its triple- and quad-core processors.
Nathan Brookwood, an analyst with Insight 64, suggested that reducing the number of cores could allow AMD to run its desktop processors at high clock frequencies.
Desktop processors are typically designed to consume no more than 120 Watts. A core reduction frees up capacity for the three remaining cores. Brookwood estimated that this could result in a 10 to 15 per cent overall performance boost.
Because most software currently is designed for single core processors, three faster cores could outpace four slower ones in real-world applications.
"If AMD can make a triple-core that runs at a substantially higher clock frequency, that's going to a be really fascinating trade-off," Brookwood said.