Many of AMD's Athlon XP processors just got cheaper. The chip maker today cut the prices of all but the fastest and slowest CPUs - the 3200+ and the 2000+, respectively - in the family by up to 31.8 per cent.

The cuts leave 333MHz frontside bus parts well below the recently introduced 400MHz FSB Athlon XP 3200+. That chip remains priced at $464 (in batches of 1000). The older XP 3000+, based on the same core but using the slower FSB, is now just $265, down from $325, a fall of 18.5 per cent.

The price of the 2800+ falls 20 per cent from $225 to $180, the 2700+ 23.9 per cent from $180 to $137. The 2600+ is now priced at $103, down 31.8 per cent from $151. The 2500+ falls from $124 to $89, a cut of 28.2 per cent. The 2400+ now costs $84, down 18.4 per cent from $103. The price of the 2200+ falls 8.6 per cent from $81 to $74, which is what the 2100+ now costs too, a fall of 6.3 per cent from $79.

AMD's move follows Intel's most recent price cuts, made to selected Celeron chips yesterday. As anticipated, Intel reduced the cost of its top-end 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4GHz Celerons. Prices fell by up to 18.4 per cent.

The 2.4GHz part now costs $84, down from $103, a reduction of 18.4 per cent. The 2.3GHz Celeron fell 11.2 per cent from $89 to $79. The 2.2GHz chip is down 10.8 per cent, from $83 to $74. The 2.1GHz Celeron costs $74 too, down 6.3 per cent from $79. ®