Coffee Lake Thread

[SteelCrysis]

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-...39699.html

DigiTimes reported today, citing sources at motherboard makers, that Intel plans to cut the pricing of its eighth- and ninth-gen processors by 10-15% and has already notified its partners of the change. If true, that could mean that pricing for some Intel processors could drop anywhere from $25 to a whopping $75 for pricier SKUs.

The revelation seems quite fantastical, and while there are signals that Intel is ramping up for a more competitive environment as AMD launches its 7nm Ryzen 3000 series processors and EPYC Rome processors, there's also the possibility the report is inaccurate or overstated. We also aren't sure if these purported price drops will filter down to retail sales, or if they are targeted at OEMs. Those companies always pay lower pricing than retail, so the impact of the potential price cut may not be as pronounced for the final products.

Historically, Intel has been known to charge premium pricing for its chips, which generally offer faster performance than competing parts, and a quick glance at Intel's pricing guides indicates that Intel has not lowered pricing for a single part, bar none, as it has grappled with the resurgent AMD's Ryzen lineup. Instead, Intel has released new product generations that come to market at lower price points.
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These signs could point to Intel gearing up for a price war, but that doesn't mean it is a certainty. Given Intel's history, it would be shocking if it reduced pricing on its existing parts, but the launch of the Ryzen 3000 chips also marks the first time in AMD's history that it has a process lead over Intel, and AMD's Zen 2-fueled chips are narrowing the node, frequency, and IPC gap with Intel's competing products.

That means this unprecedented event may require an unprecedented response.

We've pinged Intel for comment and will update as necessary.