Intel Cuts Quad-, Dual-Core CPU Prices

Author	Hugo Jobling
Published	23rd Jul 2008

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It may not be making enough Atom's to meet demand, but Intel sure knows how to shift the CPUs it does have enough of. As promised in May, Intel has cut the price of several of its current processors, almost to the dollar matching previous predictions.

All that really says is that Intel has been planning these cuts for a while, so they can't realistically be construed as, say, a further dig at AMD in the wake of losing a CEO. On to the cuts then and probably the most important is the Q6600, which is available to resellers at $193 (~£97) a piece, in 1,000 unit trays. As well as being a 14 per cent decrease, it also marks the first appearance of an Intel quad-core CPU below $200. In real UK terms, that's equating to about £120 at various e-tailers. That's around £10 more than the also quad-core 2.2GHz Phenom X4 9550, a somewhat slower processor.

On the dual-core side the 3.16GHz Core 2 Duo E8500, gets a 31 per cent reduction $183 (~£91), while the 3.0GHz Core 2 Duo E8400 now sits at $163 (~£81), an 11 per cent decrease. Last and least, the Core 2 Duo E7200, which packs a 2.5GHz clock speed and 3MB of L2 cache (as opposed to the 8000-range's 6MB) on a 1,066MHz FSB has had its price cut by 15 per cent, from $133 to $113 (~£57).

As far as we can tell these cuts are already starting to roll out across the major (r)e-tailers. If ever there was a time to jump on the quad-core Q6600 bandwagon now is it as it seems reasonable to expect Intel won't be making many more 65nm CPUs with Nehalem just around the corner.

Link:
Intel pricing chart (PDF warning!)