The Sunnyvale, Calif., chip maker sent a letter to some of its partners stating that several of its desktop processor models were in high demand and would continue to be difficult to obtain, said two systems builders who asked to remain anonymous. One of those systems builders said the note specified the Athlon 64 3500, 3800, the dual-core X2 3800 as well as the lower end Sempron 2600 and 2800 as being in tight supply.

An AMD spokeswoman acknowledged shortages in the low-end desktop space but would not comment on specific model numbers. In a statement e-mailed to CRN, the spokeswoman said: "AMD is experiencing unprecedented demand for our desktop processors and this unprecedented demand has depleted our supply of packaging components."

AMD is working with packaging suppliers – those that manufacturer the components that house the CPU silicon -- to ease the shortage. The spokeswoman said AMD has had no problems manufacturing enough silicon to meet current demand and feels confident that all sales requests can be met by the first quarter of 2006.

AMD isn't the only chip maker fighting supply issues. Manufacturing constraints forced Intel to stop manufacturing some chipset for desktop processors. In October, Intel told CRN it would for the first time in years use a third-party supplier to build chipsets for some of its desktop motherboards.