Intel Slashes Desktop, Server Processor Prices

Intel is cutting the prices on several of its processors, including the company’s high-end Core 2 Quad desktop processors, a little less than a week after reporting its third-quarter financial results and as the chip giant gears up for the release of its first Nehalem-based microprocessors in November.

On Oct. 19, Intel posted the cuts on its Web site. The processor price cuts include a 14 percent reduction for the Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor running at 2.33GHz. Intel dropped the prices of that chip from $224 to $193, and the company also cut the price of its Core 2 Quad Q6600 chip (2.40GHz) by 5 percent from $193 to $183.

In addition, Intel cut the price of its Core 2 Duo E7300 processor (2.66GH) 15 percent from $133 and $113. Intel also added a new processor – the Core 2 Duo E7400 – to this line of desktop chips. The E7400, which runs at 2.66GHz, will retail for $133.

The price cuts from Intel come less than a week after the company announced its third-quarter financial results. During the quarter, Intel posted net income of $2.01 billion, or 35 cents per share, along with $10.2 billion in revenue. Advanced Micro Devices, Intel’s main rival in the x86 processor market, also posted results last week.

The move to cut chip prices also anticipates the release of Intel new processors based on the company’s Nehalem microarchitecture. The first of these processors, which are intended for gaming PCs and high-end desktops, is called the Intel Core i7 chip and it’s scheduled for release in November. In the past, Intel usually cuts processor prices to pave the way for the release of new processors.

After the Core i7 hits the shelves in time for the Christmas shopping season in November, Intel will follow with two sets of chips for servers – the Nehalem-EP and the Nehalem-EX – with a number of other processors to follow after that release.

In addition to the Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo price cuts, Intel cut the prices of its older, Pentium desktop processors as well as its Xeon chips for one-socket servers.

Intel slashed the prices of two variants of its dual-core Pentium E2200 processor. The price of the Pentium E2200 chip, which runs at 2.40GHz, dropped 12 percent from $84 to $74, and the Pentium E2200 chip, which runs at 2.20GHz, fell 14 percent from $74 to $64.

Finally, Intel cut the price of two of its Xeon processors by 5 percent. The price of the Xeon X3220 (2.40GHz) and the X3210 (2.13GHz) each dropped from $198 to $188. All of the Intel price cuts are calculated in shipments of 1,000 units.