The cuts mean all AMD dual-core Athlon 64 chips are now priced below $200. Its high-end Athlon 64 X2 6000+ desktop CPU was previously priced at $241 but now is priced at $178, while its entry-level dual core Athlon X2 4000+ is now selling for $73. Indeed, nearly half of all its dual-core Athlon 64 products are now priced below $100.
Curiously, both of its quad-core Athlon 64 FX chips are now priced at $599 a pair. The 2.8GHz model 72 was previously at that price, but the faster 3.0GHz model 74 was previously priced at $799.
And its single-core Athlon 64s are also cheaper, priced at between $78 on the high end with the 4000+ model and $48 on the entry level with the 3200+. The company’s budget line of Semprons is priced between $53 for the 3800+ and $31 for the 3200+.
AMD mobile CPU pricing has remained the same.
An AMD spokesperson declined to comment on the cuts, citing a company-mandated quiet period ahead of AMD’s second-quarter 2007 earnings release on July 19.
Our View
AMD could be cutting the prices of existing quad-core CPUs to help move inventory ahead of its August launch of Barcelona, its forthcoming quad-core Opteron processors.
But, more likely, it is a preemptive countermeasure against Intel’s expected July 22 price cut. Rumor has it that Intel will price its Core 2 Quad Q6600 to below $300 and its Core 2 Duo E6750 to below $200. Intel has not confirmed any such pricing, but these kinds of media leaks have a tendency to be substantive.
While AMD has, of late, attempted to differentiate its products based on performance and not just price, there’s no disputing Intel’s size and power to maintain a pricing squeeze on its smaller rival.
