AMD cuts price of some Phenom chips

Here are the new prices, which are slightly above the cost to distribution and are ex VAT to represent the cost to retailers and system builders:

X4 9850 BE - was $205 - now $194 - down 5.4 percent

X4 9550 - was $175 - now $154 - down 12 percent

X3 8450 - was £125 - now $104 - down 16.8 percent

AMD is, as ever, being pragmatic and fighting the fights it thinks it can win. In this case that takes the form of offering the lowest priced quad core available in the form of the 9550 and a triple core for less than Intel's cheapest Core 2 Duo. "We're providing more than dual core at dual core prices," said Buxton.