Price Guides November 2003: CPU and Motherboards

It is very exciting to see all the 800FSB prices cut, but at the same time we are disappointed to see a lack of movement on the 2.4GHz 800FSB, which was last week’ Intel pick.  Keep in mind, AMD did not cut prices on their #1 selling chips either (Barton 2500+). 

It was also interesting to see the uneventful launch of the (533FSB) Xeon 3.2GHz CPU.  Unfortunately, it seems the 800FSB we were promised for Xeon 3.2GHz reserved for P4EE.  Intel’s price cuts seem to have overlooked the whole Xeon line, and even the launch of the 3.2GHz did not have any effect on prices for the rest of the line.  On a related bit of news, it looks like something interesting is going on with Intel’s substrate production.  If Intel is in fact unifying its packaging, less tooling over at the production facilities will result in more price cuts on Intel’s behalf.

Also we can not forget the launch of the Extreme Edition P4 on November 4^th.  Unless Intel surprises everyone with the price, people are going to be standing in line for the Matrix Revolutions instead of waiting for the P4EE.  Buying a 3.2GHz P4EE for $1000 versus buying a 3.2GHz Xeon for $885 seems almost trivial. 

There were a couple cuts we are keeping a close eye on.  The 2.6GHz 800FSB undoubtedly replaces our former Intel champion the 2.4GHz 800FSB.  Even though we like the 2.4C a lot, it is pretty much a no brainer to go with the 2.6C when they cost the same!  Likewise, the 2.8C is still on the move. Seeing the final price of that CPU set in around $200 also makes it a highly competitive choice.