Intel to Drop Prices in April, Introduce New i7 Models in May

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
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From our front-page news:
Last November, Intel launched their long-awaited Core i7 processors. These were well-received, and rightfully so. These new CPUs came out on top on most performance charts, some by a rather significant margin (remember the differences with ray-tracing tests?). But, one factor that worked towards early-adoption was something Intel had no control over... the state of the economy.

With millions losing their jobs, who wanted to go out and spend at least $1,000 on an upgrade or completely new build? Not too many, but despite that, i7 has no doubt sold pretty well given the circumstances. Well, if you are one of those looking to upgrade rather soon, it might be wise to hold off a bit longer. According to industry-tracking website DigiTimes, Intel will be dropping a few prices come April, and also introduce a few new models shortly after.

On the Core 2 Quad side, Intel will be focusing mostly on the "S" (low-power) models, although the Q9300 will be seeing a 19.92% decline to $213. Not too bad for a 2.50GHz CPU with 6MB of L2 Cache! In late May, Intel's first follow-ups to their i7 line-up will be unveiled. This will include a new high-end Extreme chip, the i7-975, at 3.33GHz, and also the new mainstream i7-950, at 3.06GHz. Pricing is expected to be $999 and $562, effectively wiping the i7-965 and i7-940 off the map (those will likely see price drops, however, and not simply disappear).

intel_core_i7_official_chip_shot_113008.jpg

For the rest of the known price-drops, check out the original findings at the link below.

Source: DigiTimes, Via: PC World
 

Kougar

Techgage Staff
Staff member
Gah. Right when I've managed to trade an older system for enough to buy a Core i7 920 you have to remind me of those new CPUs! I'm sure the 950 and 975 will be the new D0 stepping... bigger question is will the 940 be phased out (Leaving a big gap) or will it drop and stick around? It would be extremely odd for Intel to leave such a gap between the 920 and 950, and there is no way Intel is phasing out both the 920 and 940.
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
Intel won't phase out the i7-920... no way. It is, without question, their most popular i7 model, so I can't see them getting rid of it in lieu of a slightly higher clocked model. I also really can't see the i7-940 going either. You're right... that's too big of a gap, from 2.66GHz to 3.06GHz. I see price-drops happening though, at least on the i7-940 and i7-965. There has to be, given that the i7-950 and i7-975 effectively take over those exact pricing brackets.

You caved in and got a i7-920? Good stuff! Don't feel bad on that purchase though. I don't think these new models affect you at all. The i7-920 is still their lowest-end i7 model, and chances are you wouldn't have bought the $550 i7-950 anyway, so really, you're safe. I can't see the i7-920 getting a price drop either, given it's not going to be replaced with anything.
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
I am not sure that his usage of "replaced" should be taken literally... he might just mean replace those CPU's positions in Intel's line-up. It just seems a little odd for Intel to come out with faster processors and then sell them at the exact same price as what was there before. It's not like this is going to boost sales or anything.

I just can't see those CPUs going away, really. The i7-965, I could, but if there is no i7-940, then that's a 300MHz gap between the i7-920 and i7-950. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
 
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