Intel will cut the prices of its i915 chipset family, aka 'Grantsdale', right after Christmas, Taiwanese motherboard maker sources have claimed.

According to a DigiTimes report, prices will come down on 26 December, undoubtedly in a bid to boost sales during Q1 2005. The first three months of the year are traditionally a cool one for PC hardware companies.

The cuts amount to $2 off the current i915 family prices. That line-up comprises the i915G, i915GV, i915P and i915GL, all 775-pin Socket T parts with DDR 2 SDRAM, PCI Express, Serial ATA and Intel Hi-Def Audio support. The 'G' parts incorporate Intel's Media Graphics Accelerator 900 engine.

The price cuts will bring the i915 series closer into line with the older, i845 and i865 chipsets, the sources claimed. Intel is expected to introduce next-generation Grantsdales - aka 'Lakeport' - in Q2.

Other Taiwanese sources also claim that Intel has told its customers it has no plans to cut Pentium 4 prices before 2005. ®

Related stories

Review: Intel 3.46GHz P4 Extreme Edn and i925XE chipset
Intel lost 6.7% chipset market share in Q3
Intel 1066MHz FSB chipset slips out
Intel to maintain 775-pin P4 prices to 2005 - report
Intel cans Grantsdale WLAN plan
Intel puts back 90nm P4EE to Q1 '05 - report
Intel decides speed matters less these days, kills 4GHz Pentium