Petz - Re: "Pentium II retail prices crash and burn! It is obvious that Has Intel reduced prices on all their Pentium II processors by about 25% without any announcement?."
Really, now Petz - you've been so busy slinging the AMD bull that you haven't kept up with LAST MONTH'S NEWS! Check out the article below.
Intel released on Nov. 13 their January 1, 1998 CPU pricing strategy and as usual, the retail prices have adjusted to the Jan. 1 prices since there are only a few weeks remaining.
As you will note, Pentium II/233 MHz prices were slated for below $300.
You need to keep closer watch of the competition - you're missing valuable information!
Paul
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infoworld.com
Intel hastens Pentium II transition
By Andy Santoni
InfoWorld Electric
Posted at 7:23 PM PT, Nov 13, 1997
In a move aimed at speeding the transition from the Pentium MMX to the Pentium II, Intel will cut low-end
Pentium II prices Jan. 1, a month earlier than the usual quarterly price change, then cut the price of faster
CPUs Feb. 1, analysts said.
Price cuts of as much as $200 will bring Pentium II prices close to those of Pentium MMX CPUs, noted
Rob Enderle, senior industry analyst at Giga Information Group, in Santa Clara, Calif.
"They want the Pentiums out of the market," Enderle said.
The 233-MHz Pentium II will drop from $395 to less than $300 on Jan. 1, and the February price cuts will
see the 266-MHz part fall from $520 to less than $375 while the 300-MHz chip drops from $721 to less
than $525.
Intel is also adding 333-MHz parts to the price list in February, and will offer 350-MHz and 400-MHz
parts in April, when support for a 100-MHz system bus is offered in the 440BX core-logic chip set.
Even the 400-MHz device will be priced at less than $1,000, compared with a price near $2,000 when
the 300-MHz Pentium II was introduced earlier this year, analysts noted.
Intel's aim is to drive PC OEMs to the Slot 1 packaging of the Pentium II and away from the Socket 7
interface used by the Pentium MMX, as well as by Intel competitors such as Advanced Micro Devices,
Centaur, and Cyrix, Enderle said. Intel's patents on the Pentium II bus keep its competitors from offering
plug-in replacements.
Enderle expects system prices to drop before the end of the year as vendors clear out inventory.
"We're going to have some really good buys in December," Enderle said.
If OEMs do not react to the January adjustment by cutting prices again, Intel will be helping them recoup
some of the cost of their December price cuts, Enderle said.
Intel Corp., in Santa Clara, Calif., can be reached at (800) 628-8686 or intel.com.
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