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Hardware AMD Cuts Prices on Opteron Processors
Anh Tuan Huynh (Blog) - August 6, 2007 7:26 PM

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25 comment(s) - last by JayDeeJohn.. on Aug 7 at 8:39 PM

Opteron 8000, 800, 2000 and 200 models receive price cuts

AMD today silently cut prices on its current Opteron processors. The price cuts affect single and dual-core Opteron Socket F and 940 processors. Seven boxed AMD Opteron processors for Socket 940 have received price cuts including dual-core models 290, 285, 280, 275 and single-core models 256, 254 and 252.

AMD Opteron Model 200 PIB
Model	Cores	Previous Pricing	8/6/2007 Price
290	Dual	$711	$538
285	Dual	$538	$394
280	Dual	$394	$273
275	Dual	$273	$228
256	Single	$538	$394
254	Single	$374	$252
252	Single	$252	$228
HE 275	Dual	$538	$394
HE 270	Dual	$394	$273

Five Opteron 8000 and eight Opteron 800 models receive price cuts. These models are configurable in multi-CPU configurations with more than four CPUs. The price cuts affect tray processors and not retail box ones.

AMD Opteron Model 8000 Tray
Model	Cores	Previous Pricing	8/6/2007 Price
8222	Dual	$2,127	$1,499
8220	Dual	$1,499	$1,153
8218	Dual	$1,153	$864
8216	Dual	$864	$691
8214	Dual	$691	$518

AMD Opteron Model 800 Tray
Model	Cores	Previous Pricing	8/6/2007 Price
890	Dual	$1,499	$1,153
885	Dual	$1,153	$864
880	Dual	$864	$691
875	Dual	$691	$518
856	Single	$1,153	$864
854	Single	$864	$691
HE 875	Dual	$1,153	$864
HE 870	Dual	$864	$691

Eleven dual-core Opteron 2000 series processors receive cuts, including the low power HE models. These are Socket F processors for dual processor configurations.

AMD Opteron Model 2000 Tray
Model	Cores	Previous Pricing	8/6/2007 Price
2222	Dual	$864	$691
2220	Dual	$691	$518
2218	Dual	$518	$374
2216	Dual	$374	$252
2214	Dual	$252	$208
2212	Dual	$208	$173
HE 2218	Dual	$604	$446
HE 2216	Dual	$446	$314
HE 2214	Dual	$314	$230
HE 2212	Dual	$230	$190
HE 2210	Dual	$190	$173

Existing users with Socket 940 systems can rejoice as the Opteron 200 series receive price cuts as well.

AMD Opteron Model 200 Tray
Model	Cores	Previous Pricing	8/6/2007 Price
290	Dual	$691	$518
285	Dual	$518	$374
280	Dual	$374	$252
275	Dual	$252	$208
256	Single	$518	$374
254	Single	$374	$252
252	Single	$252	$208

Expect retailers to change prices accordingly in the coming weeks. The single-processor AMD Opteron 100 and 1000 series are unaffected by this batch of price cuts.

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100 year war?

By pauldovi on 8/6/2007 9:36:57 PM , Rating: 2

Maybe the price war isn't over yet. :)

RE: 100 year war?

By cheetah2k on 8/6/2007 10:24:45 PM , Rating: 2

The price war has only just begun

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RE: 100 year war?

By KristopherKubicki

(blog) on 8/6/2007 10:51:59 PM , Rating: 5

Just begun, the price wars have.

/ducks

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RE: 100 year war?

By Alpha4 on 8/6/2007 11:18:34 PM , Rating: 2

LoL. First thing that came to my mind thats for sure.

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RE: 100 year war?

By spartan014 on 8/7/2007 2:32:36 AM , Rating: 3

Aimed low, my throw was...!!

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RE: 100 year war?

By crystal clear on 8/6/07, Rating: -1

RE: 100 year war?

By crystal clear on 8/7/2007 1:27:12 AM , Rating: 2

July 20th, 2007
AMD: Is it getting off the carpet after Intel knockdown?

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=5718

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RE: 100 year war?

By crystal clear on 8/7/2007 1:39:04 AM , Rating: 2

The price war with Intel has been brutal to AMD's bottom line, and it has depressed Intel's earnings a bit, as well. Neither company wants to keep cutting prices, but AMD is the least able to do so. Intel can bite the bullet and cut more if they have to, but AMD is unlikely to stomach seeing its margins shrink any further.

As for Intel's newfound aggression in the budget space, this is an example of kicking the other guy while he's down. With its 65nm process at a mature (and high-yield) stage and its 45nm process slated to come online very soon, Intel has the fab capacity to supply the low-end segment right now. So they're going to use that strength to keep whacking a battered AMD by undercutting them in every corner of the market. It's ugly, but that's business.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070717-inte...

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Its not Christmas yet.

By crystal clear on 8/6/2007 11:46:38 PM , Rating: 2

Is this price cut, a result of a huge pile up of inventory.

Appears to me as a clearance sale !

RE: Its not Christmas yet.

By Treckin on 8/7/2007 12:24:11 AM , Rating: 2

wrong. AMD's server proc's are the only thing that has floated the company...

These cuts are to begin creating price sockets in their line-up for Barcelona based quad-cores...

I should have thought that was obvious. So long as AMD maintains their image as the better price/watt performer, that wont change any time soon. It has been shown that the actual Intel Procs arnt the high watt perpetrators, but rather their platforms, memory, etc.
Even as Intel moves their server base proc's to 45nm, their is still a chance that Barcelona will smoke it in performance per watt.

Expect a similar range of cuts in another month for their desktop based procs, with the dual intent of depleting inventory and creating price slots for their Agena based CPU's

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RE: Its not Christmas yet.

By crystal clear on 8/7/07, Rating: -1

RE: Its not Christmas yet.

By crystal clear on 8/7/2007 1:45:22 AM , Rating: 2

Now see who is talking here-

An incipient price war between chip giants AMD and Intel may fizzle out after some midsummer skirmishing as AMD has no plans to further cut CPU prices any time soon, said Gary Bixler, AMD's director of marketing for North America.
Intel is widely expected July 22 to cut prices on its three desktop quad-core processors and July 29 to its quad-core server SKUs. The Intel price cuts are perhaps all part of its own cunning plan, but they come on the heels of AMD's own round of price-slashing last week. There's no small amount of speculation that Intel's anticipated move is a reaction to AMD's, and from there the leap to predicting a brand new price war isn't a terribly long one.

But all-out war just isn't going to happen, asserted Bixler, whose company cut prices to its range of dual-core Athlon 64 X2 and FX processors by as much as 33 percent last week.

"We've tried to be very transparent on price actions. Things got crazy last year, but this year we made it a point to provide the channel with what it wants, which is a predictable business, a stable business. We communicated that price move well in advance to our channel partners. We haven't announced our next price move yet, so take that at face-value -- another one is not imminent," he said.

Bixler added that the Athlon 64 price cuts were "not a reaction to anything that Intel had done."

Sources in the white-box system builder community confirmed that AMD gave them several months of advanced warning on the July 9 price reductions. Those contacted by CRN said no such warning had been issued for more cuts.

"I haven't heard about any more price cuts," said Mike Zabaneh, COO of Tangent Computer in Burlingame, Calif.

Bixler also touched briefly upon several other topics in his interview with CRN. He would not give a hard date on AMD's release of Barcelona, the chipmaker's long-awaited quad-core CPU, simply reconfirming the corporate line on a late-August release. He gave a standard reply to questions about former ATI Technologies chief executive David Orton's surprise resignation last week from AMD just nine months after the two companies combined in a $5.4-billion merger, saying Orton wanted to some "some more time with his family."

But Bixler did mention that AMD would be announcing "major enhancements" in August to its AMD Validated Solutions (AVS) program, though he would not give specifics. The AVS program was launched last year to confront problems the chip vendor had with sub-par platforms sold by third-party manufacturers.

"With AVS, the idea is to give system builders a platform that is AMD-designed, tested, validated and supported from bottom to top. Initially, we did that with Taiwanese partners, but with the acquisition of ATI, we're taking it to new level, where we can offer the channel a full-on AMD chipset," he said.

http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jht...

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RE: Its not Christmas yet.

By crystal clear on 8/7/2007 2:08:30 AM , Rating: 2

http://www.crn.com/white-box/201001613?queryText=a...

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RE: Its not Christmas yet.

By crystal clear on 8/7/2007 2:21:43 AM , Rating: 1

quote:
Expect a similar range of cuts in another month for their desktop based procs,

Yes there something on the way-read this...

Source: AMD Athlon Price Cut Coming

AMD Monday will slash prices by as much as 30 percent on its Athlon 64 X2 dual-core microprocessor series, according to a system builder with a long-standing business relationship with the chip giant.
The system builder, who preferred to remain anonymous, said manufacturer prices for the top-of-the-line Athlon 64 X2 6000+ would drop from $241-per-unit to about $170. The price of an Athlon 64 X2 4000+ would be cut from about $90 to $69, he said.

AMD would not comment on price cuts for its Athlon line.

"AMD does not comment on rumors or speculation," the company said in a statement.

http://www.crn.com/white-box/200900540?queryText=a...

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RE: Its not Christmas yet.

By JumpingJack on 8/7/2007 1:12:57 AM , Rating: 2

Considering the timing of the cuts, it is likely pushing the older architecture down the ladder to make room for Barcelona when it launches.

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RE: Its not Christmas yet.

By crystal clear on 8/7/2007 1:17:09 AM , Rating: 2

AMD's Opteron goes to 3.2GHz

AMD is trying to breath new life into its dual-core Opteron by upping the chip to 3.2GHz just weeks before Barcelona rolls on store shelves.

AMD announced today the pricing and availability to its Opteron 2000 and 8000 series x86 chips, both in a mainstream and high performance flavor.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/06/amd_3point...

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CPU's from AMD

By vladio on 8/6/2007 8:47:44 PM , Rating: 2

Do we really need 40+ different kind of CPU's?
small, medium, large ... and Xlarge will be sufficient.
... well, OK, maybe not 3-4, but definitely
NOT 40+.

RE: CPU's from AMD

By Gul Westfale on 8/6/2007 9:03:56 PM , Rating: 2

i'd rather have more choice than not enough; you also have to remember that AMD does not stop selling older models whenever a new one is released, and therefore there are always several speed grades available at the same time.

in addition, some models are for single-socket systems, whereas others have additional hypertransport links and are therefore capable of operating in multi-socket motherboards.

and then there are the low-power variants for use in slim blade servers, where heat is a real problem.

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RE: CPU's from AMD

By soydios on 8/6/2007 9:05:23 PM , Rating: 2

Well, there's Socket 940 and Socket F, the SE and HE power binnings, 2-socket and 8-socket models, and all the speed grades. This doesn't include the 1xx(x) processors.

Except for quad-core single-socket, AMD has the market covered.

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Typo? Not much of a price cut

By Smoza on 8/7/2007 12:26:48 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
254 Single old$254 new$273

Not much of a price cut imo.

RE: Typo? Not much of a price cut

By wordsworm on 8/7/2007 12:43:45 AM , Rating: 2

I was about to say the same. But after I logged in to make the comment, I noticed that the correction had been made. If it wasn't for your post, I'd might've thought that I'd hallucinated.

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RE: Typo? Not much of a price cut

By Anh Huynh on 8/7/2007 1:19:42 AM , Rating: 2

It's been fixed. Thanks for bringing it to our attention :).

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939 = care

By GlassHouse69 on 8/7/2007 1:53:10 AM , Rating: 2

Er, well, this would be great if it included the 100 series.

a 185 would knock out my need to upgrade for another year solid.

229 is getting close, but not close enough. Hoping to get it at like 150 :)

RE: 939 = care

By Nil Einne on 8/7/2007 4:13:00 AM , Rating: 3

Well they last cut the single processor Opty lines in June. At time they did not cut prices of the 2 and 4 way (2xx, 2xxx, 8xx and 8xxx) lines. So it's not suprising they're cutting the 2 and 4 way lines now but not the single processor lines. BTW, the 165 - 170 and single core 1xx have been EOLed in the latest price list.

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This is interesting

By JayDeeJohn on 8/7/2007 8:39:56 PM , Rating: 2

Tho some dont think AMD isnt any different than Intel, just look at the price drops for C2D , with more to come, as Penryn will appear. AMD is doing the same thing. Another thought comes to mind. Many believe that Barcelona wont outdo Penryn but heres the rub, even if it doesnt, and they are neck and neck, Barcelonas power management/usage may well win out, thus making them the better choice. Sounds like competition to Intel to me, because not everyone buys the top chips, even tho Barcelona may come in slow, itll be quick to ramp up the speeds, so there is competition!!