Intel CPU prices start to drop ahead of AMD’s Ryzen launch

Reviews for AMD's Ryzen 7 processors are still under embargo for a few more days but it looks like early performance reports have already put Intel on the defensive, with significant price cuts hitting the Core i7 and Core i5 series of desktop CPUs. These price cuts not only affect Broadwell-E enthusiast class chips but the mainstream 7700K and 7600K Kaby Lake chips too.

Several retailers in the US have begun cutting prices of Intel CPUs across the board, with Micro Center being the most notable, reducing the Kaby Lake Core i7 7700K from $380 to $299 and the Core i5 7600K from $270 to $199. Moving on to Broadwell-E CPUs and we can see larger price cuts, with the Core i7 6950x coming down from $1900 to $1600. The Octa-core 6900K has gone from $1199.99 to $999.99 and the six core Core i7 6850K has gone from $700 to $550. The 6800K has also been knocked down from $500 to $360.

These appear to be the most dramatic price cuts so far, Newegg and Amazon US have also been lowering prices for Intel CPUs but not quite to the same extent. These appear to be voluntary price cuts so pricing will vary from retailer to retailer but overall, this seems to be a good start to fostering more competition in the high-end CPU market.

KitGuru Says: These initial price cuts have been popping up in the US over the last few days but right now there seems to be quite a bit of variance between retailers. Hopefully things start to settle over the coming weeks as more retailers evaluate pricing in the midst of AMD's Ryzen launch. 

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