Albert,
<Celeron prices have dropped substantially in recent weeks.
Average gray market prices for Celerons fell from an average 14% discount to
list to a 17% discount, ....>
I have noticed this price decline a couple of weeks back. And, this seems to be true not only for Celerons but also lower MHz PIIIs.
<Intel has shifted wafers to Celeron in recent months as more capacity became available. >
This is funny. I wonder of Joseph knows that PIII/Celeron are the same die. From the same die, Intel can determine at the last minute to make something a Celeron or PIII depending on how the market is doing.
<These are the greatest discounts to list price in memory, and
may spur Intel to make an interim price "move" before the next scheduled move,
which is October 29.>
Intel list prices are looking like AMDs - i.e., the discounts are so steep that the official list pricing is irrelevant. It does not really matter if there is no official "price move".
<Meanwhile, we are hearing from brokers that Advanced Micro# (AMD, 2S) may soon
initiate substantial price cuts on its Athlon processors, with the cuts
possibly coming as soon as today (Monday, October 9). >
Going by Gateway website and European retail market, the cuts went into place for a bunch of them last week.
<Finally, it is another sign that the problem in the microprocessor
market is not supply, but demand. The cuts will be steep, brokers tell us. For
instance, a mid-grade 850MHz Athlon could drop by more than 50 percent from
around $350 to $165, while the low-end Duron 600 could move from $79 to $53. >
It will be a revelation for the investment community when the soft demand situation and price cuts do not adversely effect AMD's ASPs. The light bulb will finally go off (at least for Drew Peck, I hope that is the case).
Chuck |
