It's been just under a month since AMD introduced its next generation family of Ryzen 3000 series processors built on TSMC's 7nm process technology, and already the newcomers appear to be making waves and ripples throughout the market.
Intel isn't expected to introduce its new family of competing chips code named "Ice Lake" until at least 2020 and will have no choice but to slug it out with AMD's shiny new Ryzen 3000 series contendors with its tried and tested Coffee Lake 9000 series. What's different this year however, is that for the first time in what feels like eons, big blue is in fact planning to cut prices to compete.
Intel to Cut CPU Prices by Upto 15% in Response to AMD's Ryzen 3000 Series
The company is reportedly preparing sweeping price cuts ranging from 10% to 15% across the board on its 9000 series desktop processors. We haven't seen the company do any serious price cut like this in nearly a decade and a half. Which goes to show how much of a threat Intel believes AMD's 3rd generation Ryzen really is.
The price cuts are expected to take effect just in time for AMD's upcoming Ryzen 3000 series 7/7 launch in just under three weeks. The company is taking a hatchet to the MSRPs of several Core 9000 series parts, including its Core i9-9900K, i7-9700K and i5-9600K, which will see their prices cut by up to $75, reports Digitimes via TechPowerUp.
Intel 9th Generation Core Family After Price Cuts
| Processor Name | Process | Cores / Threads | Base Clock | Boost Clock | Cache | TDP | MSRP | After Price Cut |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i9-9900KS | 14nm++ | 8 / 16 | 3.6 GHz | 5.0 GHz (8 Cores) | 16 MB | 95W | TBD | TBD |
| Core i9-9900K | 14nm++ | 8 / 16 | 3.6 GHz | 5.0 GHz | 16 MB | 95W | $488 US | ~$420 US |
| Core i7-9700K | 14nm++ | 8 / 8 | 3.6 GHz | 4.9 GHz | 12 MB | 95W | $374 US | ~$330 US |
| Core i5-9600K | 14nm++ | 6 / 6 | 3.7 GHz | 4.6 GHz | 9 MB | 95W | $262 US | ~$220 US |
The one billion dollar question however is ; will these price cuts be enough to claw back potential customers eyeing a shiny new AMD Ryzen 3rd generation chip? Especially considering the astronomical performance claims the red team is touting against the competition. The company claims 3rd gen Ryzen delivers anywhere from ~35-45% better performance versus the more expensive competing Coffee Lake counterparts from Intel.
Basic math says a 15% price cut isn't enough to close this monumental gap, but AMD's performance claims are yet to be put to the test. We will find out soon enough how well these new 3rd gen Ryzens actually perform and whether Intel's price cuts are in fact going to be deep enough to hold the line until 2020.
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Will These Price Cuts Sway You to buy an Intel CPU vs the Ryzen 3000 series?
