AMD cuts prices on Athlon, Duron

The chipmaker shaved up to 20 percent off prices for Athlon XP chips in an effort to make AMD-based PCs more attractive to buyers, a company representative said. AMD's last price cut was in late May.

Price cuts on desktop chips ranged from a 20 percent cut on the Athlon XP 2100+, which went from $224 to $180, to a 5 percent cut on the Athlon XP 2200+, which dropped from $241 to $230.

AMD also lowered the price on its Athlon XP 2000+ by 16 percent, from $193 to $163. The Athlon XP 1900+ chip fell 13 percent, from $172 to $150; the Athlon XP 1800+ dropped 11 percent, from $160 to $142; and the price of the Athlon XP 1700+ was shaved 7 percent, from $140 to $130. AMD's Athlon XP 1600+ desktop chip stayed at $130.

AMD's price drops reflect chips purchased in 1,000 unit lots. Prices for Athlons sold individually by retailers often vary widely from these list prices, based on chip supply, and are often much lower. Prices for the Athlon XP 2200+ chip, for example, ranged from $202 to $250 or more Friday afternoon, according to Web site Pricewatch.com.

AMD made fewer cuts on the mobile Athlon XP. It held the line on its new mobile Athlon XP 1800+, which lists for $335. But it did lower the price of its mobile Athlon XP 1700+ by 11 percent, from $235 to $210, and cut the mobile Athlon XP 1600+ by 4 percent, from $192 to $185. The company kept prices on the mobile Athlon XP 1400+ and 1500+ chips the same at $150 and $175, respectively.

AMD's biggest price reductions of the week came on its mobile Duron chip. Pricing on that chip, aimed at low-cost notebooks, was lowered by up to 26 percent. The price on AMD's 1.3GHz mobile Duron was sliced by 10 percent, from $134 to $120. The largest cut, 26 percent, dropped the 1.2GHz mobile Duron from $120 to $89. The 1.1GHz mobile Duron was reduced by 22 percent, from $89 to $69.

AMD also sliced the prices of its 1.3GHz and 1.2GHz desktop Duron chips by 11 percent, from $72 to $64, and by 6 percent, from $68 to $64, respectively.

Price cuts on its Athlon MP 1800+, 1900+, 2000+ and 2100+ chips for workstations and servers ranged from 14 percent to 16 percent. The chips, which once sold in the range of $192 to $262, now list for $166 to $224. AMD also dropped the price on the Athlon MP 1600+ by 3 percent, from $154 to $150.

Intel, AMD's main competitor, is not expected to cut prices for a few more weeks, when it's expected to introduce a new 2.8GHz Pentium 4 for desktop PCs.