To counter the pressure from AMD’s Socket AM2 Sempron chip line, Intel has announced plans to further reduce prices for the Celeron D series to their lowest levels.
By the end of this week, the prices for most Celeron D processor series (from 356 to 331) will drop by 8.5% to 16.9%, ranging from $44 to $74. Furthermore, by October 22, the entire Celeron D line (from 360 to 331) will see a price reduction of 8.5% to 14.5% ($39 to $74). Additionally, the latest Celeron D 360 chip (based on the NetBurst microarchitecture) will be released on August 27 at a price of $84.
Intel also hopes to launch their new microprocessor platform – Intel Core – in the second quarter of 2007, featuring the first product, Conroe-L (single-core). Before this launch, the market share of Celeron D within Intel’s overall product offerings will decrease to just 12%.
Along with the price cuts for Celeron D, Intel plans to introduce the Core 2 Duo E4300 chip in the early next year; while delaying the release of the Core 2 Duo E4200, which was initially scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year.
