Intel regularly tweaks its price list with nary a word to the masses, but the Tech Report caught chipzilla red-handed this time. The site reports that Intel has lowered prices on four desktop and two mobile processors. Looking at the latest price sheet (PDF), Intel cut 15% off its 3.2GHz i3-550, putting it at $117. That’s identical to the 3.06GHz i3-540 and only $4 more than the 2.93GHz i3-530 — the company’s cheapest i3 desktop offering.
| Processor | Clock | Cores/Threads | Sept. Price | Oct. Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i3-550 | 3.20GHz | 2/4 | $138 | $117 |
| Pentium E6700 | 3.20GHz | 2/2 | $86 | $75 |
| Pentium E5700 | 3.00GHz | 2/2 | $75 | $64 |
| Pentium E3400 | 2.60GHz | 2/2 | $53 | $42 |
| Core i7-640LM | 2.13GHz | 2/4 | $332 | $311 |
| Core i7-660UM | 1.33GHz | 2/4 | $317 | $289 |
Meanwhile, the Pentium E6700, E5700 and Celeron E3400 desktop chips are 13%, 15% and 21% cheaper, and the i7-640LM/i7-660UM mobile CPUs cost 6% and 9% less. It’s unclear what prompted the drop, but it isn’t reflected in consumer retail pricing yet, with the i3-550 still running $149.99 on Newegg. However, as Tech Report notes, if that changes, the i3-550 could nab sales away from the Athlon II x4 640 and other budget AMD chips.