Marking the availability of its delayed Profusion chipset, Intel Corp will launch new Xeon processors today (Monday) in the 1Mb and 2Mb 550MHz versions intended for four and eight-way servers. System vendors other than Compaq Computer Corp, which jumped the gun last week, are expected to reveal their eight-way server offerings at the same time. IBM Corp, Dell Computer Corp and Hewlett-Packard Co will be among those announcing systems.
Meanwhile, Intel was reportedly preparing to announce its latest set of price reductions as we went to press, with cuts of up to 41% expected on the Penitum III line. The price cuts, likely to have come into effect on Sunday, will help Intel maintain the pressure on Advanced Micro Devices Inc. In the usual quantities, the 550MHz Pentium III is expected to drop to $487 from $658, a 26% reduction, while the price for the 500MHz version should fall 41% to $251 from $423. The 450MHz Pentium III falls 20% to $183 from $230. The recently launched 600MHz Pentium III is expected to remain at the same price, at $669.
