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AMD’s restructuring is being accompanied by dramatic drops in the prices of its microprocessors, according to new official information released Monday.



In an update to its microprocessor pricing page, AMD announced high-end price cuts on the AMD Athlon 64 FX and Athlon 64 X2 microprocessors. The fastest Athlon 64 X2 processor, the 3.0-GHz 6000+, is now priced at $241, slightly more expensive than Intel’s midrange E6400, a 2.13-GHz chip that sells for $224.

AMD said Monday that it plans to cut 2007 capital expenditures by about $500 million, limit hirings to “critical” positions, and report revenues that will be significantly less than Wall Street estimates. Further details of the restructuring will be made available on April 19.

AMD has eliminated the AMD FX-62 and FX-70 from its product portfolio, selling the AMD FX-74 and AMD FX-72 chips at $799 and $599, respectively, eliminating the $999 price tier.

Most of the remaining chips on AMD’s price list use the Socket AM2 or Socket F form factor, rather than the older Socket 939 interfaces.

AMD’s flagship Athlon 64 X2 line, meanwhile, received significant cuts. The price of the 6000+ was cut by 48 percent, while the 5600+, now priced at $188, was lowered by 42 percent. The AMD 5400+ was removed from the price list, while the price of the 5200+ dropped from $232 to $178, a more modest 23 percent decrease. Cuts were made down to the slowest 3600+ part, which was reduced in price from $102 to $73.

AMD also trimmed the prices of its older Athlon 64 chips, which previously ranged from $102 for an AMD 4000+ part to $78 for the AMD Athlon 64 3200+. Today, those prices now range from $94 to $58. Slight cuts were made to the Sempron line as well.

AMD left the prices for its Turion chips unchanged.

While the processor prices generally refer to lots of 1,000 units, the lowered pricing generally trickles down to single-unit retail sales. The lower prices also affect the prices and configurations of PCs, although price adjustments can occur over a period of weeks.