BANGALORE, August 23: Chip major, Intel Coporation is planning to cut prices on its
Pentium III chips by as much as 41 per cent, according to reports on the Internet.
The huge cuts are aimed at increasing the demand for the Pentium III,
since Intel plans to stop producing Pentium II by September. Reports said
that the move would also provide the competition to rival Advanced Micro
Devices (AMD)’s Athlon chips.
As per the new price list, the 600-MHz Pentium III, which was released at the beginning
of the month, will stay at $669, according to reports. The 550-MHz Pentium III will drop
26 per cent to $487 from $658. The 500-MHz version will sink 41 per cent, to $251 from
$423.
Lower down the speed scale, Intel is dropping the price of the 450-MHz
Pentium III and 450-MHz Pentium II to $183 from $230, a 20 percent
discount. By comparison, the 650-MHz version of the Athlon, the fastest PC
chip on the market, is priced at $849 and the 600-MHz version is $615. The
550-MHz Athlon sells for $449 and the 500-MHz chip is $249.