Intel slashed the price of Pentium 4 processors for desktops and notebooks over the weekend by up to 53 percent, an annual spring ritual designed to stimulate demand for its premier PC chip.
Thanks ICE-XP for the email.
The chipmaker cut the price of the desktop version of the chip from 12 percent to 43 percent, according to a price list issued by the company. The 2.4GHz P4 dropped from $562 to $400, a 29 percent drop, while the 2.26GHz and 2.2GHz P4s fell from $423 to $241, a 43 percent drop.
Notebook chips dropped even more. Pentium 4 notebook chips have not sold as well as expected, according to analysts, especially in the corporate market. The chip is primarily usedin the thicker "desktop replacement" notebooks rather than the "thin and light" versions more popular with corporate America. Both price cuts have been expected.
The 1.8GHz mobile Pentium 4 fell 48 percent, from $637 to $348, while the 1.7GHz mobile P4 dropped from $508 to $241, a 53 percent decline. The 1.6GHz version was discounted 51 percent, from $401 to $198. The company also marginally cut prices on Pentium III mobile chips.