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AMD's new pricing scheme knocks its most powerful processor, the Phenom X4 9950 BE 140W, down from $235 to $186, with the triple core X3 and dual-core Athlon X2s all subject to heavy discounting.

Among the most significant reductions are the Phenom X4 9750 and Phenom X4 9650, both of which have had $40 wiped from their price, taking them

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to $156 and $134 respectively.

The Phenom X4 range was initially dogged with architectural problems and manufacturing delays, which allowed Intel to increase its sizable market lead with its competing quad-core processors.

Since then, however, the product range has been overhauled and won praise from PC Pro for presenting a "realistic competitor to Intel's high-end desktop CPUs."

However, as the review noted "AMD's claim on the high ground won't go unchallenged for long" and right on cue, Intel has also introduce a number of low-cost processors. Chief among these is the Q8200 which is now listed at $224, alongside an E5200 Core 2 Duo processor, priced at $84.

Intel has also introduce a new Celeron D processor for $53, which runs at 2.2GHz, with 512K of cache memory and an 800MHz front-side bus.