AMD Phenom looking to be in a world of hurt

As it is, AMD are really struggling to attract much interest in their underwhelming lineup of Phenom desktop processors. The only good thing they have going for them is the pricetag, making it easier for people on a budget to become a part of the quad-core crowd.

If they think that's what's going to keep them afloat though, they'd better re-think their strategy, and very soon. Intel are planning to close the gap entirely next quarter by releasing new entry-level Core 2 Duo and Quad processors that will be as cheap as chips!

Talk of a Core 2 Quad Q8000 lineup is getting stronger, with a Q8200 offering to kick it off which sits at 2.33GHz and contains 4MB of shared L2 cache on a 1333MHz FSB. The most hurtful aspect of this as far as AMD's Phenom range go, is the price. Several asian websites are reporting that the Q8200 will come in at a mere $203, just slightly above what AMD charge at the moment for its 2.2GHz X4s/2.4GHz X3s.