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Intel cuts chip prices up to 52%

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CIOL Bureau
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SAN FRANCISCO : Intel Corp. cut prices on its microprocessors by as much as 52 percent over the U.S. holiday weekend as the world's largest chipmaker makes room for faster chips and passes on manufacturing efficiencies to customers.



The price cuts, made on Sunday, come less than a week after Intel introduced its fastest Pentium 4 to date, running at 2.8 gigahertz, or 2.8 billion clicks per second. Intel, for example, cut the price of its Pentium 4 chip running at 2.4 gigahertz by 52 percent to $193 from $400 each, in lots of 1,000.



The price cuts, which were largely expected and typically come within a week or so of a new chip introduction, follow price cuts by its chief rival in the market for microprocessors, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., on August 21. Intel unveiled its 2.8 gigahertz Pentium 4 on August 26.



Intel also pared prices on its Pentium 4 chip operating at 2.4 gigahertz and 2.26 gigahertz by 20 percent. The 2.4 gigahertz and 2.26 gigahertz chips now cost $193, down from $241. The Santa Clara, California-based company also reduced prices on its Celeron processors, which are aimed at entry-level PCs costing $600 or less.



Declines ranged from 14 percent to 19 percent, with the 1.8 gigahertz Celeron now costing $83, down from $103, representing a decline of 19 percent. Intel cut the price of its slowest Celeron by 14 percent, and the 1.3 gigahertz Celeron now costs $64, down from $74.



The recently introduced Pentium 4M processor, designed for use in laptop computers, also saw prices fall. The fastest version of that chip, running at 2 gigahertz, now costs $348, down 45 percent from $637. Its slowest Pentium 4M now costs $171, down 29 percent from $241.



Intel also cut prices on its Celeron chips for laptop computers by 17 percent to 44 percent, and prices for its Xeon chips for server computers, by 15 percent to 19 percent. The company also reduced prices on its Pentium III-S chips for servers by 17 percent to 33 percent. Intel's fastest chip, the Pentium 4 running at 2.8 gigahertz, costs $508, in line with what it has historically charged for its highest-performing processor.



© Reuters

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