AMD drops the price of their 1GHz+ Athlons
AMD has decided to put some pressure on Intel with new, aggressive pricing and has apparently moved up the introduction of their newest processor, the 1.2GHz Athlon.
October 14, 2000
by Eric Svetcov
This afternoon I was speaking with Sterling Harris of Monarch Computer Systems and was informed that AMD just dropped the price of their 1GHz+ Athlons and that according to a CNET report, the 1.2GHz is now available (well ahead of their expected late October release). This price drop caught everyone flatfooted. It appears that it was totally unplanned......and the big winner is all of us who buy computers.
The new pricing according to PriceWatch:
$271 for a 1GHz Athlon
$366 for a 1.1GHz Athlon
$495 1.2GHz Athlon (note, most are for pre-orders)
So, I’m sure you are wondering, where is Intel? Well, at the moment their P3 1GHz part is available for $673.
So, with the new lower prices, what does that do to the price of an Athlon 1GHz desktop computer? Quite a bit actually. By using the Monarch Computer Systems online configurator, here is what I found:
System Configuration - $1248:
Enlight 7237 MidTower w/300 watt Power Supply
Add-on Case Fan
Asus A7V Motherboard
AMD Athlon 1GHz Thunderbird with HSF
128MB PC133 CAS3 SDRAM
IBM 30GB Deskstar 75 ATA100 Drive
52X CD-ROM Drive
1.44 Inch Floppy Drive
Creative Labs PCI 128 Sound Card
ATI Xpert 2000 32MB AGP Video
Windows 2000 Professional
3Com 3c905C 10/100 NIC
Mitsumi Keyboard
Logitech Mouseman Wheel
Altec Lansing ACS21 Stereo Speakers
Now the whole story is not just the price drop of the 1GHz processor. Just as important is the fact that AMD has apparently released their 1.2GHz part two weeks earlier than expected. This may be the more important story.
Right now, Intel’s fastest processor is a 1GHz Pentium 3. The Pentium 4 has been delayed at least until mid to late November and because of this delay is unlikely to be found in any major systems for Christmas. Additionally, Intel has decided to delay the rerelease of the 1.113 GHz P3 until Q1 2001. Basically this means that if you want a system faster than 1GHz during this holiday season, you have one choice....a system with an AMD processor.
On top of that, the price of a 1.2GHz Athlon is currently less than a 1GHz P3. As a corporate customer or as a home consumer, I would have to seriously consider an Athlon system.
And so that you know that I put money where my mouth is, I just went ahead and purchased four brand new 1GHz Athlon systems for the Software Engineering Group at a company where I provide IT services. When they are upgraded from their current crop of P3/550s, I think that they will be quite happy indeed. Oh, and it’s nice to have a happy CFO when he noticed how inexpensive these new hot-rod 1GHz systems cost when he signed the Purchase Order.
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