Intel Cuts Down Up To 50% On Its Top-End i9 Gaming Chip Prices

Intel is due to release the next generation of its top-end Core i9 processors after two years selling the chips at a stratospheric price. As said, Core i9-10980XE will sell for $979 as compared with $1,990 charged by the latest edition Core i9-9980XE. Expectedly, the new chips will be available in November this year. 

The transition stemmed from the level of consumers’ willingness to pay for such a high-end product, according to Intel. Frank Soqui, Vice President of Client Computing Group at Intel said their patrons preferred an affordable price instead of paying more money in exchange for a bit more performance. Following that, the chipmaker has cut down as deep as 50 percent the price for the workstations market. 

The newer Ice Lake-based designs, unlike the previous Skylake, are restricted to only power-sensitive and premium laptops. This move comes at a time Intel is facing stiff competition from the abundance of chipmakers. As smartphones thrived, tech giants like Apple, Samsung, or Qualcomm have shown up as Intel’s direct rivals. These manufacturers, however, couldn’t keep up with Intel’s clout in the market for computers. 

That’s where AMD comes in. The US-based firm currently provides Ryzen Threadripper chips that have proved to be effective, especially for certain high-end tasks. Their third-generation chips are also due to release in November. 

Intel’s exclusive processors for gamers and content creators

Besides the 10th-generation i9 products, Intel will offer other choices with much better performance, boosted out later this year. The 10980XE, for instance, can rev up to 4.8GHz in turbo mode, though still keeps 3.0GHZ base clock speed. Its lastest model 9980XE only features 4.5GHz in turbo mode.

The 10900X with 10 processor cores, in the meantime, delivers 3.7GHz base clock speed, lifting from 3.5 GHz on last year’s model. It is now priced at Rs 41,868 as compared with Rs 72,382 last year. Retailers purchasing more than 1,000 units will receive a preferential price policy.