AMD’s Puma is coming onto the stage. The new laptop platform from Advanced Micro Devices, with AMD’s dual-core Turion X2 Ultra mobile processor, a seven-series chip set, and ATI Radeon HD 3000 series graphics, was to be unveiled Wednesday at the Computex conference in Taipei, Taiwan.

The target markets are consumers, notably gamers, as well as small and midsize businesses. AMD President and COO Dirk Meyer said the “interrelated innovations” in the Puma platform deliver both “enhanced business productivity and the ultimate in HD visual performance on the go.” The company noted that business users with Microsoft Windows Vista are utilizing applications that are more graphically intensive.

Radeon HD 3000 Series

The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3000 series was first announced in January, and offers a new family of discrete graphics chips. At the time, AMD noted that the 3000 series was optimized for Puma to provide what it called “The Ultimate Visual Experience.” Several major laptop makers, including Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Toshiba, Asus, Fujitsu, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, NEC, Toshiba, and Acer are planning to use the Puma platform in upcoming products.

Among other things, the company touted the 3000 series’ support for Microsoft DirectX 10.1, which can provide a high level of lighting and rendering techniques for 3D games.

The Puma platform mixes integrated and discrete graphics, with the first for basic graphics with low power and lower cost, and the second for turbo performance. Usually, a laptop provides one or the other, but Puma can turn on both at the same time for 3D games and high-definition video.

AMD said the Puma, running both integrated and discrete graphics, can utilize ATI CrossFireX Technology for a performance boost of up to 70 percent.

The Radeon graphics will allow users to download and watch high-definition video, and is also designed for efficient use of battery power. Enhancements in…