AMD, Intel trim prices on chips
AMD lowered the prices of its desktop and mobile Athlon XP processors as much as 35 percent Monday, after Intel cut the cost of its desktop Celeron chips up to 18 percent Sunday night.
The chipmakers reduce their prices periodically to make way for new chips and to encourage customers to buy new PCs. Intel last week cut prices on existing Pentium 4 processors and introduced new Pentium 4s and a new 865 chipset for desktops.
AMD's price cuts were broader and deeper, touching processors such as its Athlon XP 3000+ desktop chip and Athlon XP-M 2600+ for notebooks. The chipmaker hadn't cut desktop prices since April 22. Its mobile processor prices hadn't changed since it expanded its mobile processor line with 12 new Athlon models in March.
According to AMD's Web site, the company reduced the price of its desktop 3000+ by $60, or 18 percent, to $265 and cut the cost of the 2800+ by $45, or 20 percent, to $180. AMD's Athlon XP 2700+, 2600+, 2500+ and 2400+ were lowered to $137, $103, $89 and $84, respectively, which translates to price drops between $19 and $45.
AMD made similar price cuts on its Athlon XP-M mobile chips. The price of the Athlon XP-M 2600+ chip for desktop replacement notebooks--the largest class of notebooks that are usually aimed at consumers--was ratcheted down by $90, or 35 percent, to $156. AMD's Athlon XP-M 2400+ desktop replacement chip dropped $38, or 26 percent, to $108. The company also lowered the price of its remaining desktop replacement Athlon XP-Ms by smaller amounts; its Athlon XP-M 2200+ now costs $86, while the Athlon XP-M 2000+ is $71, and the Athlon XP-M 1900+ is $69.
The chipmaker also cut the price of its Athlon XP-M chip models for lighter-weight notebooks. The Athlon XP-M 2500+ processor fell by $50, or 27 percent, to $134.
Meanwhile, all of Intel's desktop Celeron processors now list for less than $100.
Intel reduced the price of its 2.4GHz Celeron by 18 percent to $84, the largest of the price cuts, according to the company. The chipmaker also lowered the price of its 2.3GHz Celeron by $10, or 11 percent, to $79. The 2.2GHz Celeron and the 2.1GHz Celeron were reduced to $74 each.
The prices listed by Intel and AMD refer to the cost of processors that are purchased in lots of 1,000. Street prices for individual chips tend to vary and could be either higher or lower than list prices, depending on supply and demand. Prices on AMD chips tend to vary even more, because the company negotiates individually with customers that buy large numbers of chips.