July 22 has arrived and Core 2 Quad Q6600s for under $300
Intel last week released a new lineup of 1333 MHz front-side bus processors at low price points, but held off price cuts for existing processors until July 22. The day has arrived and Intel price cuts for existing Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors are going into effect at various retailers.
Intel Core 2 Quad
| Model
|
Core
Frequency | L2
Cache
| FSB | July 22
| |
QX6800 |
2.93 GHz
|
8MB | 1066 MHz
| $999
| |
Q6700 |
2.66 GHz
|
8MB | 1066 MHz
| $530
| |
Q6600 |
2.40 GHz
|
8MB |
1066 MHz
| $266
|
Intel’s star for this round of price cuts is the quad-core Core 2 Quad Q6600. The price cut cuts the Core 2 Quad Q6600 price in half to $266 per processor, in 1,000-unit quantities, from the existing $530 price. The Core 2 Quad Q6600 is the only sub-$300 quad-core processor available on the market. Intel has positioned the Core 2 Quad Q6700, which launched last week, at the $530 price point.
Retailers have adjusted prices of the Core 2 Quad Q6600 accordingly. A quick search for the processor at online retailers shows prices starting at $275. ClubIT, Mwave, Newegg and ZipZoomFly have the processors listed below $300. However, Newegg has already sold out of Core 2 Quad Q6600 processors.
Intel Core 2 Duo
| Model
|
Core
Frequency | L2
Cache
| FSB | July 22
| |
E4500 | 2.20 GHz
| 2MB | 800 MHz
| $133
| | E4400 | 2.00 GHz
| 2MB |
800 MHz
| $113
|
The price cuts also affect Core 2 Duo E4000-sequence processors. Intel’s Core 2 Duo E4400 drops $20 to $113 to make way for a new Core 2 Duo E4500. The new Core 2 Duo E4500 debuts at a $133 price point with a 200 MHz clock speed advantage.
Intel Quad Core Xeon UP
| Model
|
Core
Frequency | L2
Cache
| FSB | August '07
| | X3230 |
2.66 GHz | 8MB |
1066 MHz
| $530
| | X3220 |
2.40 GHz
| 8MB |
1066 MHz
| $266
|
X3210
| 2.13 GHz
| 8MB | 1066 MHz
| $224
|
If the $266 price tag is still a bit too steep, Intel plans to cut prices of its Xeon processor lineup in August. The Xeon price cuts affect quad-core Xeon UP and MP processors. The Intel quad-core Xeon processor lineup includes a 2.13 GHz X3210. Intel plans to drop the price on the Xeon X3210 to $224 come August.
|