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Intel slashes processor prices as it flushes 65nm from the manufacturing system. Credit: Intel.

Intel Corporation, the world’s leading manufacturer of computer processors, is this week turning the pricing screw on closest industry rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in an effort to further solidify its position of dominance while clearing the way for better technology.

That solidification arrives via a rush of hefty price cuts -- up to 50 percent -- applied to a variety of Intel’s existing microchips. According to Intel, around a dozen processors are covered by the price cuts, with the majority of those built on the company’s older 65 nanometer (nm) technology.

Intel’s 65nm manufacturing process has since been superseded by its more advanced 45nm technology, and the sudden round of price cuts is likely to represent somewhat of a stock clearance as it continues to shift the spotlight from one to the other, reports Computerworld.

“We’re transitioning from 65nm to 45nm,” commented Intel spokesman Patrick Ward via an official announcement posted to the California-based company’s Web site. “We’re in the process of refreshing our line. If you see a 65nm [processor], it’s older technology and we’re moving on from it.”

In terms of the most notable processors directly affected by Intel’s price cuts, the new listing reveals that 1,000-chip orders of the Q6700 Core 2 Quad have plummeted from $530 USD to $266 USD per chip, while the Xeon X3230 has also dropped form $530 USD to $266 USD.

Other 1,000-chip orders benefiting from the price cuts include the Core 2 Duo E26850, which falls from $266 USD to $183 USD per chip, while the Xeon 3085 falls from $266 USD to $188 USD per chip.

Analyst reaction to Intel’s pricing adjustment suggests that the leading chipmaker, while obviously shifting from a 65nm to 45nm focus, is looking to expand its pricing-to-performance strengths when measured against the range of processors offered by AMD, which traditionally delivers cheaper chip alternatives to Intel’s line.

When it comes to the advancement of 45nm technology, AMD is looking to ship its initial microprocessor entrants in 2008’s closing quarter, which will subsequently leave the company trailing Intel by around a year.