Intel may be set to drive down the price of its Core 2 Quad Q6600 four-core processor in Q2 2007, reducing what it charges volume buyers for the chip by up to 37.7 per cent, industry moles have claimed.

Intel has yet to announce the Q6600's launch price, but leaked information points to an entry price of $851, above the top-of-the-line Core 2 Duo but below the slightly faster quad-core Core 2 Extreme QX6700. But according to sources cited by DigiTimes, the Q6600's price will fall to $530 in Q2.

Earlier this week, it emerged that Intel is preparing to launch the Q6400 in Q3 2007, possibly in the $400-500 price range. The alleged Q6600 price cut puts the faster CPU's price in line with the Q6400's claimed price tag.

Intel will presumably be looking to tackle AMD's quad-core desktop launch, due mid-2007, but it's telling that even the chip giant doesn't appear to believed quad-core chips will take be big share of the market this year. ®