AMD's latest energy efficient "e" series Athlons might be a bit closer than we thought. Chilehardware broke the news a few days ago and we were expecting the new CPUs in early November. However, we already saw a few early listings, so it's quite possible they'll be out in late September or early October.

First in line is the single-core Athlon 2650e, clocked at 1.6GHz. This Lima core CPU has a TDP of just 15W. If one core doesn't cut it for you, you can go for the Athlon X2 3250, a dual-core Brisbane clocked at 1.5GHz. Its TDP is 22W.

AMD has launched dozens of energy efficient CPUs in the past 18 months, but most of them are 45W parts, although some are rated at 35W. The new CPUs raise the bar even further, and coupled with the energy efficient 740G/780G chipsets, they provide a very tempting alternative to Intel's Atom and 945GC chipset in the desktop market.