Intel will slash its Pentium D 9xx processor prices by up to 50 per cent on 23 April in a bid to get buyers to make the move to dual-core platforms, it has been claimed. The move will precede the launch of the 3.6GHz Pentium D 960, which recently popped up on the chip giant's latest roadmap update.

The 960 will debut on 30 April, according to Taiwanese motherboard-maker sources cited by DigiTimes. The chip will ship for $530, they said, rather less than the $637 Intel usually launches new top-of-the-range mainstream processors at, and the price of the current range-leader, the 3.4GHz Pentium D 950.

By the time the 960 launches, the 950 will have been re-priced at $316 - a reduction of 50.3 per cent. The 23 April price cuts alleged by the Taiwanese sources will see the 940's price fall from $423 to $241, a reduction of 43 per cent; the 930 will drop to $209 from $316, down 33.9 per cent; and the 920 will also end up priced at $209, 13.3 per cent below its current price, $241. All prices are per processor when sold in batches of 1000 CPUs.

Come Q3 and the debut of 'Conroe', the first of Intel's next-generation architecture processors, and the 9xx series' prices will be cut a second time, with the 960 coming in at $316, the 950 at $241, the 940 at $209 and the 920 at $178. The 930 will stay priced at $209, the sources claimed. ®