Intel are too good at controlling the marketplace to allow the introduction of a product to result in a significant drop in prices (and therefore profit). You will probably see a better performing processor at any given price point, although, as Bindi observed, the drop in the value of the pound will soak that up. The best chance of price drops in the sub-core i7 quads is for the AMD Deneb to perform well against the Yorkfields and to be priced agressively.
I've been waiting months for a Q6600 to drop below £100; they got close in August but since then they've been going up, despite all the new 45um models.
so essentially keeping x58 and ddr3 prices high will keep prices pretty much stable on wolfdale yorkfied, cause the icore7 920 looks a bargrain to be at 220 and I'd go for it except...... 200quid + for MB and another 200quid+ for mem puts it out of my price bracket
Intel has a "tier" system for their processors... meaning the previous generation and next generation cost the same, unless Intel issues a price drop from their end, which is almost never. The Q6600 has seen two or three of those price drops, however it has reached it's equilibrium, where if Intel drops it any lower, it will negate the manufacturing price, and lose them money. The only time prices will drop below that is after manufacturing stops and people have stopped wanting the processor. The fact is, the Q6600 will go up before it goes down, when Intel pulls the plug on that fab line, the Q6600 will go up, perhaps not skyrocket, but all of a sudden these companies are holding on to a rare and cherished processor, rather than just a standard popular model. Due to this, their prices will go up because people will be willing to pay that much. Only when people don't want it will the prices go down, at which time you'll have to buy second hand and it probably won't be worth it. This is why it's important to pay close attention to reviews like the one's listed here and see when items are a good buy, then wait for a sale from a good reliable source and pick it up. If you've a compatible motherboard and this is just and upgrade, I would get one now, betting that the pound to dollar ratio won't get better, because that is all that's likely to change it's price for the next few months, before it disappears. On the other hand, if this is for a new build, I would suggest either considering an E5200 (which is cheaper and though dual core, has huge overclocking benefit, though the E5300 is on the horizon, I wonder if it will OC as well?), a Q9450 (if you can find one rather than a Q9400, which was a dirty Intel trick by removing cache and charging the same price.) or the i7 920.
new build i've been thinking about for quite sometime but with pound drop can't afford it nothin worse then a strong dollar when prices are already over inflated in uk thanks for your reply Lord, I'll be trawling the second hand market in search of a gem or 2
the used market price will be bound to take a hit as A) there will be a slight amount of people wanting to unload c2d and c2q systems for a new i7 system and partly because those chips will no longer be top of the line and not command as much resale value. I still haven't decided on the q6600 e 8400 or 920 route yet
i'm thinking to go for e5200 and OC to the max then when prices have dropped will pick up a Q9300, e8400 second hand I'm assuming thought that I won't loose to much in the way of FPS as the GPU is all important ie maybe a 10-20% drop in FPS with e5200 and 4870 vs 920 and 4870 suppose need to wait for the iCore7 platform to be released, stabilized, and then compared
Actually, they dropped the price of the Q9550 to the same level as the Q9450, then they released the Q9400, then they discontinued the Q9540. I was about to get a Q9450 in my build but then I noticed the Q9550 had dropped below the Q9450 in price so I changed it in the last moment.
