Sunnyvale (CA) – A dual-core processor for $73? Not a problem over at AMD. The company has published yet another dramatic top-to-bottom price cut for its desktop processor line-up, which now tops out at just $241 for a 3 GHz dual-core chip in the high-end mainstream segment.
Average retail prices for AMD’s desktop dual-core processors have been sliding downhill for several weeks in an increasingly competitive environment in which AMD tries to maintain its market share and Intel can control key segments of the market with a superior processor architecture. The price cuts AMD published today not only follow that trend but show take the battle between the companies to a new level: AMD’s high-end mainstream processor X2 6000+ undercuts the price of its most comparable Intel counterpart E6600 by nearly 24%.
On a closer look, the X2 6000+, which carries a TG Daily performance index of 1.92 (see our price performance charts), had a tray price of $464 until yesterday. The new price is $241. The average U.S. retail price followed the price without delay, dropping from $449 last Friday to $241 today, according to Pricegrabber.com. We found one online shop that is offering the CPU for $229. In comparison, the Core 2 Duo E6600 (TG Daily performance index 1.94) has a tray price of $316 and currently averages $307 in U.S. retail.
On the very high end, AMD cut the prices of the FX-74 (2-processor package) from $999 to $799 and the FX-72 from $799 to $599. The retail prices of these low-volume processors remain very high ($1084 for the FX-74). The FX-70 was dropped from the AMD price list.
On the lower end, AMD now has three dual-core processors below $100 (3600+ for $73, the 3800+ for $83 and the 3800+ EE for $83), and seven processor between $100 and $200 (4000+ to 5600+ models ranging from $104 to $188). In the mass market, AMD now has no processor anymore that can compete in the more lucrative segments above $300. Intel maintains control of these areas with its E6600 dual-core ($316 tray price), the E6700 dual-core ($530) and the Q6600 quad-core ($851) processors and apparently has seen little reason to lower their prices.
Both AMD and Intel are in transition periods for their desktop processors. AMD’s 65 nm X2 CPUs have been making their way into the market for some time; Kuma dual-core and Agena quad-core processors are expected to be introduced early in Q3, but aren’t likely to ship in volume until later this year. Intel is preparing the E6x50 series of its dual-cores with a front side bus upgrade to 1333 MHz for an early Q3 release.
The complete AMD price list can be found on AMD’s website.
Average retail prices for AMD’s desktop dual-core processors have been sliding downhill for several weeks in an increasingly competitive environment in which AMD tries to maintain its market share and Intel can control key segments of the market with a superior processor architecture. The price cuts AMD published today not only follow that trend but show take the battle between the companies to a new level: AMD’s high-end mainstream processor X2 6000+ undercuts the price of its most comparable Intel counterpart E6600 by nearly 24%.
On a closer look, the X2 6000+, which carries a TG Daily performance index of 1.92 (see our price performance charts), had a tray price of $464 until yesterday. The new price is $241. The average U.S. retail price followed the price without delay, dropping from $449 last Friday to $241 today, according to Pricegrabber.com. We found one online shop that is offering the CPU for $229. In comparison, the Core 2 Duo E6600 (TG Daily performance index 1.94) has a tray price of $316 and currently averages $307 in U.S. retail.
On the very high end, AMD cut the prices of the FX-74 (2-processor package) from $999 to $799 and the FX-72 from $799 to $599. The retail prices of these low-volume processors remain very high ($1084 for the FX-74). The FX-70 was dropped from the AMD price list.
On the lower end, AMD now has three dual-core processors below $100 (3600+ for $73, the 3800+ for $83 and the 3800+ EE for $83), and seven processor between $100 and $200 (4000+ to 5600+ models ranging from $104 to $188). In the mass market, AMD now has no processor anymore that can compete in the more lucrative segments above $300. Intel maintains control of these areas with its E6600 dual-core ($316 tray price), the E6700 dual-core ($530) and the Q6600 quad-core ($851) processors and apparently has seen little reason to lower their prices.
Both AMD and Intel are in transition periods for their desktop processors. AMD’s 65 nm X2 CPUs have been making their way into the market for some time; Kuma dual-core and Agena quad-core processors are expected to be introduced early in Q3, but aren’t likely to ship in volume until later this year. Intel is preparing the E6x50 series of its dual-cores with a front side bus upgrade to 1333 MHz for an early Q3 release.
The complete AMD price list can be found on AMD’s website.