Quote Originally Posted by R101 View Post
We need AMD or Nehalem will cost 2k$ per CPU until late 2009..
Might I suggest the main reason for continous price reductions has been the the dramatic improvement in process technology coupled with simple economies of scale rather than competative pressure.

With roughly equal die areas for each of the 80386 and Penryn the latter will be cheaper due to vastly more viable dies being delivered from the larger wafer being used in it's manufacture.

Frankly it seems Intel is already operating as a monoploy and has been since Core 2's introduction. They are releasing new product to their own schedule and setting compelling pricing without the slightest threat from AMD. They can't arbitrarily set prices and let the market stagnate as this would both impact on their revenue and allow other competitors in. Would most people really need a PC if a net enable, keyboard equipped games console bundle with Linux and an applications suite were available?

I'm not denying competative pressure plays a role in pricing, but I think it's current importance is overstated.