Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

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Monarch Computer parts intro info:
Monarch Market Watch

Memory manufacturers continue to report slight price drops over the coming weeks, but all other markets remain stable.

AMD will be releasing 4 new model CPUs next week: the Athlon 64 3700+ (754 pin), the Athlon 64 3500+ (939 pin), the Athlon 64 3800+ (939 pin), and the Athlon 64 FX-53 (939 pin). Monarch is an AMD launch partner and Platinum Provider and will be among the first resellers in the world to carry these CPUs. Monarch also has the ASUS 939 pin board in-stock for these CPUs, so don't fret having a CPU with no board to run it on.

If you notice, there will be overlap for the FX-53 CPU with 939 and 940 pin versions available simultaneously. Currently the 940 pin FX-53 is available at $733, but soon after the release of the 939 pin version (expected to retail from $799-$850) AMD will RAISE the vendor cost on the 940 pin version to somewhere around the lower $800 range. What does this mean for the customer? If you've got your eye on the FX-53 and don't have to have the new 939 pin version, you can save yourself nearly $100 by buying before the new CPU launch next week.

You may wonder why AMD would raise the price on a CPU that's being phased out. This is a unique situation, and Monarch really hasn't seen anything like this before. Right now, the enire AMD 64 desktop line is evenly priced, but as the new 64 3500, 3700, and 3800 CPUs hit the market, that will no longer be the case. The price hike is so that the price gap between the CPUs remains consistant with the performance gap. If the FX-53 CPU was available for not much more than the 3800+, sales on the less powerful CPU would suffer.

AMD is working the prices this way to ensure the entire line of 64 bit CPUs remain sellable and evenly priced. However, as we said before, there will be a small window of opportunity to buy the 940 pin FX-53s BEFORE AMD goes up on reseller cost.