Intel Corp. has moved its “Dothan” mobile processor into the ultra-low-voltage space, scattering additional price cuts among its mobile microprocessor lineup.
Intel introduced the LV/ULV Intel Centrino 1.40GHz model 738, 1.10GHz model 733, and 1GHz model 723 alongside the platform’s corresponding Pentium M counterparts. The Centrino bundles include, in addition to the processor, an Intel 855GM or 855PM chip set and either the Intel Pro/Wireless 2100 or 2200BG wireless card. Prices for the new Centrino bundles will range from $299 to $356 in lots of 1,000 units, company officials said.
The new chips are part of Intel’s recently-launched Dothan family, which increases the Level 2 cache of the microprocessor from 1MB to 2MB. Intel in January
The company also announced that it would sell ultra-low-voltage Pentium M processors individually, ranging in speeds from 1.0GHz to 1.4GHz. The 1.0GHz ULV Pentium M 723 will cost $241, while the 1.10GHz model 733 and the 1.4GHZ model 738 will cost $262 and $284, respectively.
Intel scattered a number of isolated price cuts across its product lines in support of the new introductions. The chip maker trimmed the price of its 1.10GHz model 713 ultra-low-voltage Centrino platform bundle to between $299 and $313 (a savings of between 6.3 percent and 6.6 percent), depending on the chip set and wireless card that a customer selects. The price of the 1.10GHz Pentium M 713 was also cut by 8 percent to $241.
Intel also cut the price of two Mobile Intel Pentium 4 processors to $186, highlighting the confusion in Intel’s naming scheme.
For now, a 2.80GHz Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor with Hyper-Threading technology containing 1MB of L2 cache, fabricated on a 90-nanometer process, costs $186. That’s the same price as the 2.80GHz Mobile Intel Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading technology, except that the second model boasts only 512KB of L2 cache and is fabricated on a 130-nm process. Fortunately for component purchasers, the identical pricing is Intel’s tip-off that the slower model will be discontinued.
Intel also dropped the price of the 900MHz ultra-low-voltage Celeron M 333 to $144, an 11 percent drop. In what appeared to be an unrelated move, the company also reduced the price of the 2.8GHz Pentium 4 desktop processor 8 percent to $163.
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