AMD slashes processor prices by half

AMD announced on Monday that it has slashed the prices of some of its products by more than half as the company continues to fight for market share against chief rival Intel.

Price cuts included AMD's dual-core Athlon 64 X2 5000+, chopped from US$696 last quarter to $301, and the Athlon 64 X2 4600+, cut from $558 to $240. AMD also reduced the prices of its mobile chips, including AMD Turion 64 chips, from $354 to $263. The firm also slightly lowered the cost of its Sempron chips for laptops.

The news follows AMD's failure to reach its earnings estimates when its second quarter performance was announced last week. It precedes this week's formal launch by arch-rival Intel of its new mass-market Core 2 Duo processor platforms for desktops and notebooks.