AMD must be feeling quite a bit of pressure from Intel and have decided to cut prices of their desktop CPUs again. The price cuts are between 5-28% depending on the model.
Here is a rundown of the new pricing (for 1000-unit tray quantities)
$220 – Athlon 64 X2 6400+
$167 – Athlon 64 X2 6000+
$146 – Athlon 64 X2 5600+
$125 – Athlon 64 X2 5200+
$136 – Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Black Edition
$115 – Athlon 64 X2 5000+
$104 – Athlon 64 X2 4800+
$89 – Athlon 64 X2 4400+
$78 – Athlon 64 X2 4200+
$68 – Athlon 64 X2 4000+
$58 – Athlon 64 4000+
$50 – Athlon 64 3800+
$45 – Athlon 64 3500+
As of writing this you can pick up a dual core Athlon 64 4000+ on Newegg.com for $70, INCREDIBLE.
AMD isn’t looking so good, the Athlon processors are seeming quite ancient next to the Core 2 Duos from Intel. I’m really hoping that the Phenom will put up a better fight. I’ve always loved AMD and I used to say that I would never buy a computer with an Intel processor in it, I have since purchased a Mac and because of the Core 2 Duos I’ve realized that that was a stupid thing to say. I would love to go back to AMD but I won’t unless they start to kick it up a notch.
(I understand that I can’t get AMD in a Mac but I occassionally build systems for family members and currently I would suggest Intel, but I would rather select AMD, AMD just needs to get a bit better at it)