Apple's announcement of a $499 Mac mini computer last week attracted considerably more publicity than Advanced Micro Devices garnered when it launched a similar sized PC, costing just $185, last November.

But AMD is accustomed to living in the shadow of better known rivals and used this to good effect last Monday, putting out a profit warning knowing it would be eclipsed by the fourth-quarter results of its bigger Silicon Valley neighbour, Intel, a few hours later.