Intel's 12th Gen Alder Lake CPUs Could Be Getting Another Price Cut
Intel's launch pricing for its 12th Gen Alder Lake processors didn't stick very long, as we've seen continued price declines over the past few months. Prices are even down a bit from the beginning of the month when we highlighted several CPU deals. As it turns out, Intel might be prepping a couple of additional rounds of price cuts, and fairly significant ones to boot.
Before we get that, here's a look at current pricing on Amazon...
- Core i9-12900KS: $734.98 (save $115.01) / $749.99 on June 1
- Core i9-12900K: $586.95 (save $120.55) / $594 on June 1
- Core i9-12900KF: $549.97 (save $126.28) / same price on June 1
- Core i7-12700K: $379.99 (save $116.26) / $384.99 on June
- Core i5-12600K: $279.98 (save $62.52) / $277.96 on June 1
- Core i5-12500: $219.99 (save $28.76) / $202.99 on June 1
- Core i5-12400: $193.96 (save $43.54) / same price on June 1
- Core i3-12100: $129.98 (save $25.02) / same price on June 1
Pricing hasn't fallen across the board—several are the same now as they were on June 1st, and a couple of mid-range SKUs are actually a few bucks higher—but all are below their list price. Likewise, DDR5 memory pricing has been coming down as well, with a lot more kits to choose from now compared to when Alder Lake launched.
Even so, the folks at Digitimes heard from the upstream supply chain that PC orders for the second half of the year have been "far weaker than expected." They also note that at least one major OEM is scaling back orders in a big way.
As a result, those same sources indicate that Intel will slash Alder Lake pricing for PC makers by another 5 percent in the near future, after having already trimmed 10 percent the second quarter of this year. It won't just be at the top end, either, but also on Intel's Core i7 and Core i5 models.
What's also interesting is that both AMD and Intel are expected to launch their respective next-gen CPUs by the end of the year. For Intel, its 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPUs should be drop-in compatible with existing 600-series motherboards, while AMD's upcoming Zen 4 processors will slot into a new AM5 socket. Either or both of these launches will likely drive down Alder Lake pricing even further towards the end of the year.
