Get your hands on Intel Core 2 Quad!!

hvc801

I was reading the technology news on C|Net just before and came across an article that provided me with some warm fuzzy news.

I normally go for AMD for the Price : Performance ratio, but I do own an Intel PC.

Turns out on January 18, 2009 Intel will be lowering prices on their Core 2 Quads.  You can find the article here.

Intel price cuts coming

Posted by Brooke Crothers Font size Print E-mail Share 4 comments Intel is planning price cuts to its lower-end mainstream quad-core processors on January 18.

Barron's Tech Trader Daily first reported the news, citing Pacific Crest analyst Michael McConnell.

These cuts are happening because of the recent introduction of Advanced Micro Devices' 45-nanometer Phenom II and "Shanghai" Opteron processors.

AMD's quad-core Phenom II "Dragon" processor platform has been garnering solid reviews and its Shanghai server chip has been adopted by top-tier server suppliers including Hewlett-Packard, Sun, Dell, IBM, and Fujitsu.

Cuts are expected mainly on quad-core processors, though other processors may also receive cuts.

 

So if you've been looking to upgrade you Intel processor (like me), I'll be getting my hands on one of these on the 18th, or others days to follow. 

Cleffy

It would be interesting to see if consumers would want to invest in technology that Intel themselves have made obsolete and has been selling overpriced for several years.  I don't think I would considering the new Phenom IIs outperform nearly every Core2 chip, and these are only the introductory processors.

altairzq

Thanks for the heads up, sounds interesting.

DrChicken

Originally posted by Cleffy


It would be interesting to see if consumers would want to invest in technology that Intel themselves have made obsolete and has been selling overpriced for several years.  I don't think I would considering the new Phenom IIs outperform nearly every Core2 chip, and these are only the introductory processors.

 

Oh, please - I think the smartest choice for any consumer willing to spend money at the price range of the Phenom II would probably have a better investment in the new Core i7s, the i7 920 outperforms the price comparable Phenom II 940, while at the same time giving a shit load more memory bandwidth and inter-core bandwidth, plus a generally higher idle wattage efficiency - in addition to all of that, the i7 platform will eventually have 8-core support, whereas the new Phenoms will still be stuck on an outdated DDR2 interface. In short, why spend money on a Phenom II when you can spend the same amount, or a little extra, on a system that both outperforms and offers future-proofing?

Cleffy

Did I say they shouldn't invest in a Core i7?  I said they shouldn't invest in a core2.

Also your energy analysis is off.  Where Intel gets its low idle power consumption is by having other parts of the motherboard take over so the power consumption of the CPU isn't as high.  Idle, the Corei7 consumes 1.5w on CPU, and 145w for the system.  On the other hand the Phenom II takes 10w CPU,and 110w System.  Whats more important, 1 part of the system or the whole system?

I don't really consider 30% higher in cost a little bit more.  As I said the current Phenom IIs are merely the introductory processors like the rescent Core i7's.  The Core i7's specifically targeting the upper market with chips that cost $1000, and boards that start near $300.  On the other end you have the Phenom IIs introductory processor that is targeting the budget consumer.  Its an AM2+ processor without the memory controller necessary for an AM3 board.  In all the benchmarks, the Phenom IIs have outperformed all but 2 Core2 chips. 

Will Phenom IIs be good performers at a higher price range?  Probably.  In the next year as Intel introduces more budget processors, and AMD introduces thier Dragon System we will see better performing parts.  This year AMD has planned to release 6~8 core parts, the AM3 board that utilizes DDR3 memory, and having AM3 processors that are backwords compatible with AM2+ and AM2 boards.

The issue I raised is would consumers even want to buy Core2 parts now?  Considering the Core2 was made obsolete with the Core i7 and the Phenom IIs are actually competitive with it priced similiarly, I don't think it would be a good investment and is more an attempt for manufacturers to sell off excess goods.