Intel Cuts Quad Core Prices

FYI - Just blundered into this one over on ExtremeTech.com.

Intel Cuts Core 2 Quad Processor Price in Half

How does a Q6700 for $266 sound? To me it sounds about $224 better than the price I paid for my Q6600 back in the day **sigh**.

Was just about to post that myself.......you beat me to it lol.

z3r010 said:

Was just about to post that myself.......you beat me to it lol.

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LOL - Maybe it will help with Brink's shopping list.

I think Shawn is after a Q9450

z3r010 said:

I think Shawn is after a Q9450

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Why is the Q6600 so much more expensive (or I guess I should say why WAS) than the Q9450? 9450 has 1333Mhz FSB, 12 and 12 MB cache as opposed to 1066 and 8 for the 6600. I think i paid $325 for my 9450 while that article was quoting the 6600 at $530.

almost a year to the day from last year's massive C2D price cut, when i bought my C2D, the week before the cut. . . . I gave newegg an extra $100, piddle me off. . . so now i have been waiting to get either a kentsfield or a wolfdale, not sure which

sportsguy

Bubba said:

z3r010 said:

I think Shawn is after a Q9450

Click to expand...

Why is the Q6600 so much more expensive (or I guess I should say why WAS) than the Q9450? 9450 has 1333Mhz FSB, 12 and 12 MB cache as opposed to 1066 and 8 for the 6600. I think i paid $325 for my 9450 while that article was quoting the 6600 at $530.

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Bubba,
I suppose that a primary reason for the price difference lies in the fact that Intel claims their 45-nm fabrication process is much cheaper than it was for the older 65-nm processors. Simple economics would indicate that Intel would have to continue passing these manufacturing costs along to the consumer. That Intel must now compete with the AMD Phenoms for quad-proc market share probably played a significant part in why the newer Yorkfield quads were priced cheaper than their older Kentsfield cousins as well.

As Intel's 45-nm processors are starting to become more easily available (with volume shipping scheduled to begin in earnest sometime this summer), their 65-nm counterparts are now entering their "sunset years" (months really), and the newly discounted prices are most likely just a part of Intel's inventory reduction strategy. If you are a student of Moore's Law (and Darwinian "survival of the fittest" theory too I suppose), you can anticipate that the same thing will eventually happen with the Yorkfield's, and the inevitable "everything must go" price cuts will make that $325 you paid for your Q9450 seem like a huge ripoff.

Such is the life for us geeks trying to stay on top of the technology curve. Somehow we always seem to forget that every component we choose to put into our systems will essentially be obsolete before the shipping carton arrives, and even realizing so, we'll continue to pay premium prices for them anyway...