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Due to excessive amount of processors from Intel Corp. as well as Advanced Micro Devices’ aggressive attempt to capture higher market share, personal computers (PCs) may become about 10% cheaper over the next three months, some analysts claim. This will be a result of aggressive promotional campaigns, which is likely to lead to higher number of PCs sold this year.

Computer makers acquired more processors in Summer compared to normal industrial partners, ZDNet web-site reports. Intel executives are reported to have said that excessive inventory the company sold equaled to $100 million in the most recent quarter. Computer makers who now have extra amount of chips or other components are likely to decrease their pricing and kick off advertising campaigns in an attempt to get rid of those products.

“Potentially, the situation could lead to promotional prices of $199 for entry-level desktops with an Intel Celeron or AMD Sempron processor, 256MB of RAM, a hard drive with at least 40GB, and Windows Home Edition in the package. The PC would also be bundled with a 17-inch CRT display and, possibly, a printer,” said Current Analysis senior analyst Toni Duboise.

According to Ms. Duboise, 18% of the desktops selling at retail at this moment are priced at less than $500 after rebate. Furthermore, pricing of laptops is also likely to be down from current levels going forward: the analyst said that several retailers started advertising notebooks with Intel’s Celeron M mobile processors at promotional prices of $499 last year.

Current Analysis estimates that average selling price for an average desktop from companies like HP, Gateway and Sony was about $719 without rebates in September 2005. The average AMD Athlon 64-based system cost approximately $633, well under the $845 average price-point for a desktop equipped with an Intel Pentium 4 processor with Hyper-Threading technology.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/other/d...024100322.html

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