You may be able to grab that Core 2 Duo E8500 for a few bucks less in 2-4 weeks, according to a report by Fudzilla. The site claims to have it on good authority that Intel will slash processor prices between July 20 and August 10. Without quoting any numbers, Fudzilla goes on to say the E8500, E8400, and E7200 should all be affected.
We already had a brief look at Intel’s processor plans for this quarter in a leaked roadmap last month. If that roadmap is still accurate, a Core 2 Duo E8600 will take the E8500‘s place, while the E8500 will drop to the position currently filled by the E8400. A 45nm, 2.33GHz Core 2 Quad Q8200 will coexist with the Q6600 model on the quad-core front, and the Core 2 Duo E8400 should drop to the same neighborhood as the E6550.
With those changes, Intel could end up battling AMD’s triple- and quad-core Phenoms with 3GHz and 3.16GHz dual-core processors in the sub-$200 arena. Above the $200 mark, Intel may offer two sub-$250 quad-core processors and its fastest dual-core offering yet—the Core 2 Duo E8600—at around $270. Judging by the progression of clock speeds and model numbers in the E8000 series, the E8600 might end up running at 3.33GHz.