SLASHDOT

Intel has slashed the price of its CPUs by an amazing 53%! Hopefully this means they will be on par with AMD in terms of prices.

SAN FRANCISCO — Intel Corp. (INTC) has cut prices on some of its microprocessors by as much as 53 percent as the world's largest chipmaker's investments in manufacturing over the past two years are starting to pay off.

Intel regularly cuts prices throughout the year as its production costs drop and demand shifts. But the company said this round of price cuts is a direct result of the billions of dollars it has spent on upgrading chip factories with machines that make chips from larger wafers and with shrinking line widths and transistors on its chips.

"One thing that's different here is we're seeing aggressive production yields," said Intel spokesman Robert Manetta. "Our investments over the last couple of years are really starting to pay dividends."

The price cuts will likely mean lower prices for personal computers and laptops and could increase pressure on Intel's long-time rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc., analysts said.

Intel's price cuts, on its Pentium 4 desktop processors, mobile processors and Xeon processors for server computers, also came as Merrill Lynch analyst Joe Osha trimmed his second- quarter revenue and per-share earnings estimates, citing a soft first two months of the second quarter.

Sounds like we could be in for an interesting year ahead.

P.S. Yes I found this on /. so if you don't like it, go away.

if thats true im getting intel

50% is half, not 53% you idget.

nice glow

ITS A CONSPIRACY, QUICK EVERYBODY DO LIKE THIS GUY.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/raraku/alfoil.jpg

http://corr.ausgamers.com/images/hunter.jpg

sif intel

ROFL thats gold c0rr!

Usually AMD would bring out a new chip and lower their prices to stay on top but it seems to me that AMD are really bankin on the hammers being a success and intel not having any competition for it.

nice work guys!

still will be expensive.

Well the only problem with Intel was the price.

I guess they are the best now... right?

wrong. hunter likes em so they mus be s***.

Fag Odie :P

So for comparison, how much ($$$) is a ~2ghz processor with similar performance from each company?

hmmm
only $420 for a P4 2Ghz Northwood core.

or a 1.7 for $329.

oh nice :)

Nice competition there

Well this is one slashdot post I like :D

About time that Intel did something in interest of the customer rather then just being money grabbing bastards

P4 1600 $289

AMD 1.6ghz $279

as you can see, they already are more or less "on par" as far as real mhz go, and to me that pr rating is pure bulls*** and I refuse to touch AMD until they remove it.

if you buy a chip based solely upon MHz rating, you're silly :)

I've been pro-AMD for a while, but now I'm looking at Intel with restored respect. Northwoods overclock like mofos.

yeh my Asus Mobo can take a Northwood up to 2.4 ghz. I dunno, I am at 2ghz now..but I have heard people running the 2.4 Northwoods on 133fsb up to nearly 3ghz...thats something to think about isnt it now?

hmmmm

orbitor I was an Intel person (back when there wasn't any DECENT alternative, eg pre-1997) and then I bought a K6 which was definately not as good as an equivalent Intel and also ran hotter and consumed more power. I then changed back to Intel (in fact I'm still using the same Celeron 333 I got in Feb. 99) and I will stay with Intel no matter what the price - provided they keep their QA standards the same. More than anything, CPU stabiity and longevity influence my decisions on what I would buy/support.

AMD can't deliver the goods in either area; their CPUs run hotter and consume more power.

AMD are ass as far as I'm concerned now. I don't give a toss what anyone says.

Well, AMD still offer the best bang for yer buck, but if you were going high-end, the new P4s would be hard to pass up :) Personally, I have NO company bias when it comes to computer gear, and will buy whatever i see as the best product on the market.

their CPUs run hotter and consume more power

doenst the new thoroughbred cpu use less power and run heaps cooler.

i can understand people being reluctant to try amd if theyve had a bad experience with them in the past, but if you havent tried any of the newer range (thunderbirds and above) then that bias is misplaced imo. Ive had a dodgy intel processor (p3-550) but i would buy one again in the future if i think they are offering the best deal at the time. Similarly i wouldnt touch an ibm harddrive right now, but im sure they will improve and who knows maybe i will get one in a few years.

We've got 3 thunderbirds at my house at the moment and havent experienced any problems with them at all. Dont let one bad experience with a particular manufacturer turn you off a brand completely as over the years the technology is refined and you miss out on a really good product.

IBM have sold their hard drive assets to Maxtor.

OMG OMG 53% off a mobile processor, run for the hills!!!

/end sarcasm

Seriously though, the biggest price cut is on a processor I doubt many people here would even consider purchasing. And thats only because the P4m CPU's were rediculously (sp) overprices in the first place.

The desktop prices on the other hand look quite tasty, but i'll wait untill the clawhammer first, shaping up to be a pretty swoit CPU.


Also, something that might intrest you people, AMD is reported to be dropping their prices by a fair bit pretty soon as well, to make way for the upcoming hammer (and opteron) series.

their CPUs run hotter and consume more power

now lets have a look at that...

p4 .13 micron, XP .18 micron.

am i the only person who notices a difference there?

so what if amd chips run hot, they are using a larger manufacturing process and they are clocked right to the limit. so of course they will get hot. old .18 micron chips will of course use more power.

ffs hunter get your facts straight first before coming out with you usual boring biased opinion.

Uhh DecayingCorpse... I knew Intel chips use a smaller die size... what is your point? My point is that they [AMD] use more power and dissipate more heat. I've already been through this a million times with Fade2Black in another thread. More heat dissipated means more heat going into OTHER components of the computer, more so now that we no longer have slot-based CPUs (the best method for CPUs in terms of heat management).

EDIT: Someone edited my post (a******).

Hunter - His point is that if you compare chips of the same die size, they'll most likely consume equal amounts of power, and dissipate equal amounts of heat. Comparing a .13 micron chip to a .18 micron chip is like comparing apples and oranges.

oh so we're comparing the size of our wafers now.....

Besides, hunter, you weren't refering to the heat going into the other componants, you were comparing the intel p4 and the AMD athlon, thus why it is in an unfair comparison.

umm....it doesn't really matter. intel consumes less energy and has less heat. do i give a flying f*ck if they will be on par in 6 months? no, because if i had an AMD, my computer would be getting hot NOW. so, i don't care if they'll have a better manufacturing process later, because intel beats it now. and p4's overclock like mofo's with stock fans. no special cooling require. oh, and you can't burn them out. even if you take the heatsink OFF. amd's burn out so easily, and they chip so easily.

Yeah, but some people don't give a s*** how much power they consume, nor how much heat they generate, because all you do is put a decent heatsink on them and you're right as rain.

why is comparing a p4 to an athlon unfair? is business fair? no *cough* telstra. but seriously, u can't whinge and say "it's not fair, intel's only better because they have .13 micron" does that change that the p4 is better? (not looking for argument) u can't say, "oh, wait till blahdifrickinbla comes out, then AMD'll kick intel's ass" intel has the goods NOW.

Erik-the-Red - Yes, but Hunter acts as if it's some flaw in AMD's design that makes them run hotter, when it's just the fact that they use a larger manufacturing process.

Yeah, but some people don't give a s*** how much power they consume, nor how much heat they generate, because all you do is put a decent heatsink on them and you're right as rain.

Uh the heat still has to go somewhere... and even with a heatsink that is into the other components.

Erik-the-Red - Yes, but Hunter acts as if it's some flaw in AMD's design that makes them run hotter, when it's just the fact that they use a larger manufacturing process.

It is a flaw - Intel has spent a LOT of money on refining their manufacturing processes which is why they have smaller die sizes than AMD. Saying it's unfair to compare the two is silly - you think we have to make allowances for AMD because t hey don't yet sell a .13 micron chip? Boohoo for them, that's their fault if they haven't yet released one.

Hunter - P4s are flawed then because they dissipate more heat and use more power than a .07 micron chip.

I love it when Hunter argues this crap.

Hey hunter why dont you tell QGL of your processor history.

Incase he's feeling a bit sheepish it consists of 1x K6 and 1x Celeron.

He's never even seen a P4 or an XP chip which hasn't been on Slashdot.

*sigh* Why do you bother? When you are comparing EQUIVALENT CHIPS which MOST AMD AND P4s FALL UNDER it is IMPORTANT TO TAKE SUCH MATTERS INTO ACCOUNT. Where is this magic 0.07 chip? Stop being silly and admit that AMD chips make perfect replacements for oven hotplates.

Hunter - The UltraSPARC III is a .07 micron chip.

Tael, yeah I have 6 of them in my computer right now... geez let's be a little realistic here shall we? How many people do you know that have anything other than an AMD or an Intel? Hardly anyone.

I love it when Hunter argues this crap.

Hey hunter why dont you tell QGL of your processor history.

Incase he's feeling a bit sheepish it consists of 1x K6 and 1x Celeron.

He's never even seen a P4 or an XP chip which hasn't been on Slashdot.

Oh so this box of old processors I have here must be imaginary!

Well I'll just add that I love my hot AMD processor - I have no need for a heater in my room, i just close my door and the windows and run my Athlon with the side of the case off :) works pretty well since it's a 1.4 @ 1.53 which is one of the most power-consuming of AMD's range!

Oh so this box of old processors I have here must be imaginary!

Yup, just as imaginary as your sex life.

Please note the key word, Old. HRM YEAH P4'S ARE SO OLD I'M RUNNING A P34872934792374 OFF SLASHDOT.

Don't make me post the alfoil picture again.

Only 6? You should have 1024 :P

Raraku you're a moron who just got owned, go away.

Haha owned how?

I said you've only ever used a K6 and a Celeron and therefore are drawing all your facts and stats out of thin air or are you going to actually link to any websites (I know it takes you a week to connect to anything apart from Slashdot on your atari 2600 but indulge us)

You come out with some pretty f***ed up comments and no way to back them up, cmon make us believe once Hunter, link to some fact which proves the point, and by fact I mean an offical page with a history etc which isn't a Geocities site.

I'm stating by the fact your processor history consists of two Old processors you know actually zero when it comes to real life applications, the box of old cpu's hurrah, they must be old if your PC is only a 300.

Get some experience, and get some facts straight then come back and argue rationally, not like the moron you are.

And by the way, you just got f***ing owned.

How long have you been using and fixing computers? And don't lie, I WILL verify any claims you make.

I have so many old processors here its not funny, and not just AMD/INTEL either. I have Cyrix processors, TI processors (yes they made x86 clones a while ago), AMD (early clones and a K6), Intel from a few 8088 and 8086s) to modern Celeron. In addition to that I have a few generic CPUs which I can't tell what they are because the heatsinks are stuck fast to the surfaces of them.

Raraku, you don't need to own a processor to know much about it - that's just you trying to gain superiority in an argument that you would otherwise lose. The whole "haha you are poor and I am rich line" is a dirty tactic used only by dirty people (eg you). Stop behaving like a slime bag and shut the f*** up until you know something about CPUs other than "AMD = GOOD BECAUSE THEY = TEH CHEAP!!!@$##$%#$^%".

Here's a little fact for your bag: If AMD are so good, why is it government policy not to use them due to stability problems? And don't tell me I'm wrong because I've talked to a lot of people who both sold computers to government depts. and people who work for the government itself. I also acknowledge that there might be some office politics behind it but ultimately I'd say their decisions are based on fact.

Oh and btw, not only do governments mandate that AMD CPUs not be used, a lot of sysadmins wouldn't put them anywhere near a mission-critical system.

Organizations like to buy what people are familiar with.... Intel, Microsoft, Dell... these are companies people trust., that is not to say other brands may make a product that is substitutable, or better suited.
Even our uni computers that the uberleet computer geeks use are dells and gateways...

i am an amd consumer whore and i will not yield even tho i know that intel is far superior and is my god.

How long have you been using and fixing computers? And don't lie, I WILL verify any claims you make.

OH NO HE'S GOING TO HACK THE FBI DATABASE AND FIND OUT HOW LONG I'VE BEEN FIXING PC'S HEAD FOR THE HILLS.

I've been using a PC since 1988 and I've been fixing them since 1994.

I have so many old processors here its not funny, and not just AMD/INTEL either. I have Cyrix processors, TI processors (yes they made x86 clones a while ago), AMD (early clones and a K6), Intel from a few 8088 and 8086s) to modern Celeron. In addition to that I have a few generic CPUs which I can't tell what they are because the heatsinks are stuck fast to the surfaces of them.

And what the hell does that have to do with the heating/electricty output of an AMD system?

Raraku, you don't need to own a processor to know much about it - that's just you trying to gain superiority in an argument that you would otherwise lose. The whole "haha you are poor and I am rich line" is a dirty tactic used only by dirty people (eg you). Stop behaving like a slime bag and shut the f*** up until you know something about CPUs other than "AMD = GOOD BECAUSE THEY = TEH CHEAP!!!@$##$%#$^%".

Thanks for the compliments! I actually own a Thunderbird AMD Processor, a Duron AMD Processor, a Pentium 3 Processor and a Celeron Processor. Go check your FBI and Taxation database, it will prove the validity of my claims!! I'm quite lucky I have a job and earn cash, thats because people actually want to hire me for my job skills and qualifications, unlike you where you're qualified to sit in a dole queue.

Here's a little fact for your bag: If AMD are so good, why is it government policy not to use them due to stability problems? And don't tell me I'm wrong because I've talked to a lot of people who both sold computers to government depts. and people who work for the government itself. I also acknowledge that there might be some office politics behind it but ultimately I'd say their decisions are based on fact.

Many reasons for that actually, the government works on replacing PC equipment when it becomes defunct and useless, at the moment lots of them are still running Pentium 3 options and it does all they want it to. If you would like proof I'm good friends with some people who do purchasing at the Treasury office who put out tenders for this sort of thing.

AMD is starting to appear in the workplace, for instance, TAFE (at red hill) uses nearly wholely AMD systems for the staff administration aspect. I do admit we have a few DELL PC labs which have Pentiums in them, but that is because of a contract with Dell.

Oh and btw, not only do governments mandate that AMD CPUs not be used, a lot of sysadmins wouldn't put them anywhere near a mission-critical system.

As asked in the last post, please post some links to this sort of information, it seems you don't read too well hey Hunter, post some links to backup YOUR claims. I know a fair few system admins who DO run AMD systems for mission critial stuff. Get off your high horse and take off the Slashdot hat.

There are quite a few servers around the place that run Athlons. I honestly can't see what the big issue is here: the Athlon chips are priced very competitively, and perform very well in gaming applications. The Intel chips are more costly, but at the moment they have the edge in the highest-performance stakes.

Either processor is fine, but due to Intel's smaller micron process, Intel chips are less likely to overheat if the computer is not looked after by the user - which means they are perhaps slightly easier to maintain.

And the only reason why governments and other institutions continue to use Intel processors is because they have usually have ongoing deals with companies such as Compaq or Dell, and changing these sort of agreements is more effort than it's worth. You'll find this true of just about any largish company - they stick with something even if there are better or cheaper products available, because changing over takes too much administrative effort for the relatively small difference in cost/performance.

As I said, I acknowledge the fact that politics play a part in decisions. To be honest, after hearing about all the trouble people have with buying AMDs I wouldn't use them on a large scale. You also have to realise that Intel CPUs running with STOCK CPU HSFs run FINE. AMD... well let's just say you have to buy something EXTRA which costs almost half of what the processor itself cost...

Stop being silly and admit that AMD chips make perfect replacements for oven hotplates.

I'd hardly say my duron running at 39 degrees is a 'perfect' replacement for an oven hotplate, but hey, you can have your deluded opinions, which you obviously get by not taking some factors into account in why the processor could run at a temp like that. Lets see:

- Video card, hey, look at that, the video card puts out a fair amount of heat, I guess that's something that could contribute to the temps in the case.

- Harddrives, hey, look at that again, harddrives get pretty warm, which would raise the temperature in the case pretty well.

you don't need to own a processor to know much about it

You should own a processor so you can draw your own conclusions about it. All you seem to f***ing do is rant and rant about how toms hardware or other sites have reviews about AMDs and how they run hot.

All you do is recycle the crap you get from other sites.

But hey, this is hunter we're talking about.

If AMD are so good, why is it government policy not to use them due to stability problems?

Why does our luddite Communications minister say all the stupid s*** he says? Because his advisors, yes men, and script writers tell him what to say.

Whose to say the person who decides what systems to use isn't just a big fan of Intels because its a big brand, and they can get a motherf***ing lucrative contract from Dell? Hey, how about that? I mean, hell, go to an auction, look at what ex-government computers are there. Oh look, theres a s***load of Dells.

Maybe they use Intels because Dell says to use Intels, because Dell wants the government contract?

And stability problems, jesus. Hey, got any sources which you can link us to and prove that the newer models are unstable? Or are you still going on about the OLD athlons, the old Slot A athlons, which did have some problems. Hey, my duron is running nice and stable, so is my dads, and my brothers athlon is running stable as well.

a lot of sysadmins wouldn't put them anywhere near a mission-critical system

The person in charge of purchasing goes "whose this AMD company, never heard of them, lets buy Intel", or maybe the manager has only heard of Intel perhaps?

I've had nothing but brilliant results from my AMD based systems, and I'll trust AMD based servers any day of the week.

AMD... well let's just say you have to buy something EXTRA which costs almost half of what the processor itself cost...

Hrm. Duron 850 when it was new was like $200. The heatsink and fan cost $40. Doesn't look like half there hunter, or even almost half. Looks like 20%.

Hunter posts... well, let's just say slashdot, copy/paste, recycle garbage from other sites, and not have an ounce of PERSONAL experience with the AMD processors today.

I think you will find intel CPU systems are used by the majority of businesses because of their reliablility and compatibility.
Especially when they have 100's or 1000's of computers connected to their network.
I will be upgrading very soon, and with the price drop in intel cpu's i intended to now get a 2ghz P4, which is about the same price now as the equivilent athlon XP.
AMD cpu's are very good for the money, and have certianly improved. Its good that intel now have some serious competition so that they cant just charge what they like.

hehe
funny ppl.

Hunter, have u seen the size of the heatsink and fan that comes with the P4?
IT"S f***EN HUGE!
about the same size as the Volcano 7 for the XP CPUs.

I don't think heat is a big issue, they have things called case fans :)

go hunter go!


you ARE going for the "most s*** ever to come from 1 persons mouth" record arent you?

Stop being silly and admit that AMD chips make perfect replacements for oven hotplates

/tips computer on side, fills suacepan with water and tries to cook his tea on it. Think i'm gonna be waiting a while...

OMG!!!! my duron is running at 34C ...call out the fire brigade...better yet i have bacon & eggs in the fridge.

haha amd

Why does our luddite Communications minister say all the stupid s*** he says? Because his advisors, yes men, and script writers tell him what to say.

Whose to say the person who decides what systems to use isn't just a big fan of Intels because its a big brand, and they can get a motherf***ing lucrative contract from Dell? Hey, how about that? I mean, hell, go to an auction, look at what ex-government computers are there. Oh look, theres a s***load of Dells.

Last time I looked the state government wasn't the federal government... uh-oh you fell into the pot there old boy!

And stability problems, jesus. Hey, got any sources which you can link us to and prove that the newer models are unstable? Or are you still going on about the OLD athlons, the old Slot A athlons, which did have some problems. Hey, my duron is running nice and stable, so is my dads, and my brothers athlon is running stable as well.

I told you - I know people who actually BUILD the damn things that are SOLD to state government depts! How much more first hand do you want it!?

Hunter, have u seen the size of the heatsink and fan that comes with the P4?
IT"S f***EN HUGE!
about the same size as the Volcano 7 for the XP CPUs.

Have you seen the size of the Northwood P4? Its a lot smaller than the original P4 model.

All you do is recycle the crap you get from other sites.

But hey, this is hunter we're talking about.

No cyph, its called knowing a little about the construction and operation of CPUs, not just reading review sites and listening to FUD like the majority of plebs on this forum do.

haha amd

i am an amd consumer whore and i will not yield even tho i know that intel is far superior and is my god.

See, doesn't it feel better when you tell the truth Mechanical Space Ninja?!

Last time I looked the state government wasn't the federal government... uh-oh you fell into the pot there old boy!

funny, you never said which government. How was I to know?

and a search for the word 'state' on the previous page revealed nothing. So you're the one who f***ed up there.

you'll find the reason companies buy P4's is because they are better at running business aps etc... not because they run hot or are unstable.
They arent really unstable till u overclock the crap ot of them.
I know i dont have many crashes/lockups on my XP 1800, only time i can ever recall my system freezing is a few infinite loop Nvidia bugs in games

Athlon chips are the gamers choice as they perform better in gaming and are cheap.

Go figure...

Bulls*** spews from Hunters mouth so much I'd swear he was a retail CS player.

http://users.tpg.com.au/neff/hunterrednose.png

How long have you been using and fixing computers? And don't lie, I WILL verify any claims you make.

ha-haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

How will you do that? Hack into the central computer maintenance database?

I'm sure huntard is a bot. Just a really dumb bot.

AMD... well let's just say you have to buy something EXTRA which costs almost half of what the processor itself cost...

Wrong.

Most schools/education department in QLD uses Intel, and rightly so, intel has a pretty much untarnished record of stability in business systems, I dont believe for a second the government would change from intel processors to amd, simply because amd DOESNT have a good track record. I see amd processors as purely cheap chips for gamers and enthusiasts, but if you want reliability and stability for business level stuff you can go nothing but intel, as i have always done

Yeah the Northwood chips are alot smaller than the original P4's

it's doesn't mean the Heatsink and fan are any smaller u idiot.

omg fade what a MEAN AND DIRTY INSULT

AMD just cut their's too.
Not by as much but by quite a bit.

I have a P4 2Ghz and have been able to benchtest it against friends XP 2000
(we swapped vid cards and had same DDR ram in each system for test)

There was almost nothing between them....
I use business apps as well as play games, he just plays games.

What I can do on my machine (business apps wise) simply takes longer on an AMD, all for the prices of approx 10 - 15 FPS??
Sif when you get around 190 fps, 10 - 15 matter......