Sunnyvale (CA) – AMD’s triple-core Phenom X3 processor was designed as the firm’s answer to Intel’s 45 nm Core 2 Duo CPUs and as a buffer to protect the tray prices of its quad-core Phenom X4 models. However, since the launch in April, AMD has cut Phenom X3 prices nearly in half since their launch in March and has repositioned the chips to compete with Intel’s entry-level Core 2 Duos and dual-core Pentiums, which are mainly used for desktop PCs with prices of $500 and below. Bargain hunters could find the X3 increasingly appealing – there is a new chip targeted at overclockers and two new low-power models.

AMD’s recent product and market strategy leaves us scratching our heads. On one side, the company has a clear problem to keep average selling prices of its processors at high levels. On the other, it cuts the prices of what might have been the company’s arguably most important chips this year at unprecedented levels. The current pace of price cuts is unusual and makes us wonder whether AMD has enough 65 nm production efficiency to enable these price cuts or if the company has more channel and retail problems than we know of.

Today’s price for X3 processors cut is the second within two weeks. AMD now has four regular (95 watt) triple-core processors. The X3 8450 runs for $104 (down from $125 in July), the X3 8650 for $119 (down from $145), the X3 8750 for $129 (down from $175) as well as the new X3 8750 Black Edition with overclocking support, which is priced at $134. Pricegrabber.com average retail price data suggests that the lowest retail prices for AMD triple-core processors are within 5% of AMD’s tray prices.

Also new are 65 watt X3 8450e and 8250e processors with undisclosed prices.

A quick look at Intel’s price sheet reveals that AMD decided to price its X3 processors at the very low-end of Intel’s Core 2 Duo range. The 8450 is priced right between Intel’s budget 45 nm dual-core E5200 ($84) and the regular Core 2 Dup lineup, which begins at $113. AMD’s X2 dual-core CPUs are priced between $66 for the 5000+ version and $92 for the 6000+ model.

There is no doubt that AMD’s triple-cores are bargains in today’s PC market. According to Hot Hardware, a 2.4 GHz X3 8750 is outperformed by a Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0 GHz by just 6%. However, the X3 sells for $129, while the E6850 runs for $183, according to Intel’s latest processor price sheet.

If you are looking for a mainstream PC and have to stay within a certain budget, it might be a good idea to closely watch PCs with these processors.  

Sad...

Sep 09, 2008 01:14     

Somebody once explained (in a TGD article comment) why Intel was delaying Nehalem. The explanation was simple, sad and to the point. It was said: "Welcome to the world without AMD"... Now I'm sad again.
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Phenom X3 goes fire sales

Sep 09, 2008 03:08     

That's sounds about right. There has already been steady deterioration of X3 prices worldwide. Overclocking the X3? Good luck with that.. I mean literally, try your luck. On top of that you'll need a very good (and usually a more expensive) motherboard (preferably with SB750 and better power regulators). The alternative choice of an overclocked 45nm cheap Intel dual core on cheap motherboards can be much faster than X3. I don't think AMD is going get much profits out of these X3s either at such low prices. They are after all salvaged X4s with one weak or bad core.

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Getting ready for holiday sells?

Sep 09, 2008 09:32     

Maybe AMD is getting ready for holiday sales. Trying to beat Intel to the price cuts to boost sales early on? Who knows.
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E6850?

Sep 09, 2008 10:12     

The E6850 was superseded by the E8400, which is roughly 11% faster and costs $163. (Intel doesn't drop the prices of superseded processors; it just cuts the supply.) The E6850 is in fact probably comparable to the $133 E7300, as is the Phenom X3 8750. Given these facts, $129 is probably a very appropriate price for it. (Also realize that the E7300 is faster on single-threaded workloads than the Phenom X3 8750, and there are still very many single-threaded workloads.)

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Wosers

Sep 09, 2008 13:25     

I like dramtic price cuts. In a world where EVERYTHING is going UP (except the amount of money we make) its nice to see price cuts! JIF www.anonweb.net.tc
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Re:E6850?

Sep 12, 2008 13:06     

Single threaded work loads, x32 bit OS, poorly programmed games are sick ways to evaluate a modern CPU/Platform. These usually waste computer resources and are highly inefficient in modern systems. X3 8750 is better than E8400 (forget E7300) on a x64 bit OS. A machine will be running many applications (like browser, anti-virus, image/video/word editing, audio player etc) at the same time. It does not matter much if a particular application is single threaded. I have both these machines. Even on a P45 based high end ($400) Motherboard, E8400 does not give the same performance. That said. the E8400 system is consuming less power by about 10%. Which is very good. AMD has to improve here, current Cool & Quiet is old tech. There has to be new C&Q that gives better Pwr Savings (disable/shut off 2 or 3 cores "completely" when the system is idle will be top of the world). Imagine in 2-3 years, processors will have 6 or 12 cores, where will the Power consumption be?. (It should be like a car, the user should decide how many cores to enable/disable at run time). In this scenario the bigger shared caches will do better. The world need not come to its end because few people played Freecell longer. How do you make Freecell multi-threaded will it help in increasing the efficiency of the overall system ? :)

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