Advanced Micro Devices cuts the prices of some of its processors for high-end desktops and gaming PCs. The prices of the brand-new AMD Phenom II X4 processors are being cut by as much as 18 percent. AMD rolled out the Phenom II processors at the CES expo as part of its platform for gaming desktops, code-named Dragon. The processor price cuts follow similar cuts by rival Intel and come as AMD prepares to release its quarterly report amid reduced demand for desktops and notebooks due the economy.
Advanced Micro Devices is cutting the prices of its brand-new Phenom II
processors for high-end PCs and gaming machines as
worldwide
demand for desktops and laptops slows down due to the global economy and
the recession in the United States.
On Jan. 21, an AMD spokesperson confirmed
that AMD has cut the price of its Phenom II
X4 940 processor (3GHz) by about 18 percent from the original price of $275 to
$225. In addition, the chip maker slashed the price of its Phenom II X4 920
chip (2.8GHz) 17 percent from the original price of $235 to $195.
The prices are calculated in 1,000-unit shipments.
AMD
only just introduced the two new quad-core desktop processors at the International
CES expo in Las Vegas early in
January. The two microprocessors are part of AMD's "Dragon" platform
for high-end desktops and gaming machines. The Dragon platform also includes
new chip sets and ATI graphics.
The Phenom II X4 processors are considered an important part of AMD's
road map, as they represent the first 45-nanometer processors that company has
manufactured for PCs. In November,
AMD
rolled out its first 45-nm Opteron processors for server systems and
workstations and the company is expected to offer 45-nm processors for
consumer and commercial laptops and desktops later in 2009.
The price cuts by AMD follow Intel's
reduction of the prices of several of its processors on Jan. 18. The cuts
included significant reductions in the prices of
Intel's
Core 2 Quad processors, which are also used for gaming and high-end desktops,
as well as price cuts for a number of other chips from the Pentium, Celeron and
Xeon families.
Intel also introduced several new processors Jan. 18, including new Core 2
Quad chips.
In an e-mail, Phil Hughes, an AMD
spokesperson, declined to say if the company was planning additional price cuts,
but noted that AMD changes "prices as
required by the market."
Right now, the market for hardware, especially PCs, is looking grim as
consumers and business buyers cut back on their purchases of desktops and
laptops. In a recent report, IDC found that
PC shipments in the United States
dropped 3.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the fourth quarter of
2008, and OEMs and chip vendors have warned that
the
first quarter of 2009 could also see less demand for PCs and other types of
hardware such as server systems.
During a discussion of Intel's fourth-quarter financial report,
Intel
executives did not offer any guidance for the first quarter of 2009 but
warned that demand for PCs had slowed down significantly.
AMD
is expected to release its fourth-quarter results Jan. 22, and the company has
already warned that it plans to eliminate 1,100 jobs to help reduce costs. Wall
Street analysts are calling for a loss of 54 cents a share with revenue of
$1.23 billion.
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