On the 23rd of April last, Intel dropped its prices on a range of microprocessors, including Xeons, Pentium IIIs and its low end Celeron range. But a change in the published prices of chips does not necessarily mean that you will be able to buy any of these products cheaper, particularly given the level of shortages mainstream PC companies, as well as the distribution market, are currently suffering. Distributors can buy their chips from Intel in 1,000 or 10,000 lots and then add on their little bit of margin for resale to system builders and resellers. So you'd expect that when you bought your Pentium III or Celeron from a component reseller it would be cheaper than it was this time last week, right? Wrong. The shortages mean that middle marketers can juggle the prices and you might end up paying quite a bit more than you expected to. This situation is compounded, or perhaps the right term is complicated, by the shortage of boxed desktop processors. Availability, all the way down the range, will start in Q3. When in Q3, we don't yet know. This means that if you are looking to buy a microprocessor, do so carefully. Some people will add a significant premium to these published prices. Look out. ® See Also Intel cuts prices on CuMine processors Intel CuMine shortage problems a twisted, tangled tale Availability of boxed Intel chips to happen Q3