Look out, Phenoms: there's a new kid on the block. Intel has quietly introduced the Core 2 Quad Q8400, a $183 quad-core processor with a 2.66GHz clock speed, 4MB of L2 cache, and a 1333MHz front-side bus. In essence, this looks to be a cheaper, slightly stripped-down version of the Core 2 Quad Q9400 that's been selling for $220 or so these past few months. The only apparent differences are that the more expensive option has an extra meg of cache per dual-core die and virtualization support.
What does that mean for AMD? The Q9400 and Phenom II X4 940 are neck-and-neck in terms of performance, so introducing a cheaper yet almost equivalent processor may force AMD to cut prices. Perhaps that's why we saw the X4 940 listed for $189.99 (and $169.99 after a coupon code) at Newegg last week. For now, though, AMD's processor pricing page still says the 940 costs $225 in volume quantities.
But wait; there's more. Along with the Core 2 Quad Q8400, Intel has introduced a low-power Q8400S variant with a 65W thermal envelope and a $245 price tag. The chipmaker has also updated its price list with new, lower prices for a handful of other processors—mainly low-power and mobile offerings.
Here's what those cuts look like:
| Processor | Speed | L2 cache | FSB | TDP | Old price | New price |
| Core 2 Quad Q9300 | 2.50GHz | 6MB | 1333MHz | 95W | $266 | $213 |
| Core 2 Quad Q9550S | 2.83GHz | 12MB | 1333MHz | 65W | $369 | $320 |
| Core 2 Quad Q9400S | 2.66GHz | 6MB | 1333MHz | 65W | $320 | $277 |
| Core 2 Quad Q8200S | 2.33GHz | 4MB | 1333MHz | 65W | $245 | $213 |
| Core 2 Duo SP9400 | 2.40GHz | 6MB | 1066MHz | 25W | $316 | $284 |
| Core 2 Duo SL9400 | 1.86GHz | 6MB | 1066MHz | 17W | $316 | $284 |
| Core 2 Duo SU9400 | 1.40GHz | 3MB | 800MHz | 10W | $289 | $262 |
On the server front, the Xeon L3360, X3330, and X3320 have also been discounted. As far as we can tell, those CPUs are simply single-socket server variants of the Core 2 Quad Q9550S, Q9400, and Q9300, respectively.
