AMD takes axe to comment on chip prices

A US source said that AMD will slash its prices towards the end of October on a range of its K6-2 processors. But AMD in the UK has refused to comment on the story, saying it was "more than their job was worth". According to Computer Reseller News US, AMD is preparing to release 380MHz and 400MHz versions of its K6-2 processors in Q4. As revealed here earlier, AMD is on target to introduce its K6-3 chips late this year. It also has a K6-2 mobile in its capacious wings in Austin, Texas, and in Dresden, Germany, when that ramps. But AMD is also under pressure from Intel, which has initiated a death match between it and all other clone chip makers. Last week The Register revealed Intel's technique, which according to CRN US, will force AMD to now sell its 333MHz K6-2 at $95. AMD has a different policy to Intel. When Intel prices fall below $100/1000, it means the end of a processor. AMD is likely to keep the 333MHz part alive for some time. The 333MHz K6-2 will fall to unprecedented prices in the first quarter of next year, the newspaper said. That may not be enough to allow AMD to keep its prices 15 per cent below Intel's prices. Sources at the Great Stan said that its now-famous 370 pin socket will undercut that 15 per cent by a factor of five per cent. ®