As AMD’s 3rd generation Ryzen CPUs begin to march just over the hill, Intel is supposedly preparing its own form of countenance to the rival chipmaker’s new processors. According to multiple sources, Intel plans to reduce the prices of its desktop CPUs by up to 15% in response to the new Zen2 architecture Ryzen CPUs.
News of Intel’s proposed price first appeared on DigiTime, who in turn had received the information from multiple motherboard makers. Who had been informed that the semiconductor company was prepared to lop off between US$25 (~RM103) and US$75 (~RM310) from the current prices of its mainstream consumer CPUs.
The information itself still remains unverified, but if it happens to be true, consumers can look forward to pricing for Intel’s current lineup of Core processors such as the Core i9-9900K and Core i7-9700K coming down in price.
But while this may sound like good news for PC enthusiasts, we do advise Malaysian PC builders and people looking forward to building their own desktop PC to remain sceptical about the price drop. The reason for this is simple; while CPU prices may be reduced in most countries, that general rule doesn’t seem to apply to the Malaysian market. Due to a difference in market dynamics.
Most shops and outlets that sell PC components in Malaysia are unwilling – reluctant even – to lower the price of processors, for the simple fact that they are just unwilling to incur a loss. Couple that with the fact Intel doesn’t publicly announce or reveal the official retail pricing for its CPUs in Malaysia, and the tariffs that our customs charges on PC components. It’s easy to see why that is the case.
Intel still hasn’t mentioned when it intends to implement its price reduction. However, considering that AMD’s 3rd generation Ryzen CPUs are slated to launch on 7 July this year, it would be in its best interest to do so before then.
(Source: DigiTimes via Techspot)
