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Intel slashes quad-core pricing
Author: Gareth HalfacreePublished: 20th January 2009
Intel's latest price cuts - including a massive 40 percent off the Q9650 - bring their chips back into competition with AMD's Phenom II X4 range.
According to BetaNews, the manufacturer is cutting prices on quad-core 'mainstream' chips by up to forty percent in response to the launch of the Phenom II X4 range from rival AMD. In order to compete with the Phenom II X4 940 3.0GHz processor – which is sold in batches of 1,000 for $275 – Intel is slashing the cost of its 3.0GHz Core 2 Quad Q9650 from $530 to $316.
The price reduction aren't just at the top end, either: the company is reducing its standard power quad-core chips – desktop-oriented chips ranging from the Q8200 to the Q9550 – by between 16 and 20 percent.
During CES we wrote that it would take a price drop on Intel's part to beat out the similarly-performing Phenom II X4 chips – and it seems that someone at the company is listening.
The bad news for anyone interested in the higher-end of the CPU market is that the price cuts don't include Intel's new top-end i7 processor range – and nor do they extend to the Core 2 Extreme range of gamer-oriented chips or the low-power laptop ranges. Whether this aggressive pricing move will prompt a similar drop from AMD remains to be seen.
Do you think that this price cut will be enough for Intel to keep its place on the top of the pile, or is it just evidence that AMD's latest designs have the company running scared? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
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Gotta love price wars :D
Probably because it's one of the most popular quad chips due to its low price and overclocking potential.. or we could blame the credit crunch :D
Funny you say that, was looking at building a pc for a mate and looked at the Q660 G0... checking the price at scan, its more expensive now, than when I paid for it about 2 years ago :D hrhr
This is good news (for my friend at least) whom can look at using one of the Yorkfield chips.
cant wait for the i7 to reach ~£130 then i might upgrade
Definitely, especially since I should be picking up a 940 to drop into my system in February =D
guess ill stay until Nehalem45nm is out.......................
hahaha we're in the same boat, brother!
I assume you mean 32nm since all nehalem/core i7 chips are 45nm?
Additionally, for those of us that haven't already made the jump to quad core, getting a 45nm one would be the logical choice - lower heat output, better performance (especially with programs that take advantage of sse4.1 instructions) and the chance to potentially overclock it further with the right board.
This is the news I have been waiting to hear all month, I was planning on upgrading my current E8400 to a Q9650, but I was waiting for the Q9650 to drop <$400. Good times ahead! :D
im interested in a q9550s. it's got 20w less TDP and yet have higher max temp. comparing to normal one
Q9650 is £429.99 atm! When are the price drops due? It looks like it should drop to about £200-or-so.
I'm all for AMD, chipping away at Intel, forcing them to drop their prices.
Yup, thank goodness. AMD better survive or we'll see prices go up and quality go down by Intel.