Intel Sandy Bridge Processors Take Serious Price Cuts

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If you were looking to upgrade your home computer hardware, you may want to hold out just a bit longer, and possibly go with the “spend some of those Christmas gift cards” approach instead, as word has just landed that the lower end of the Sandy Bridge lineup is about to see some serious price drops.

Basically, Intel’s got some plans to get the Ivy Bridge line of processors up and running before too much longer here, and that’s going to mean some necessary cost-cutting to get the last of the older stuff out the door to clear the shelves for the new. The price cuts in mind are geared toward the Intel Core i3 and Intel Core i5 processors–the i7 models won’t be getting this cut–and the word is to expect cuts in the 10-15 percent range. Some progress has already been made on that, with Asus and Acer first to step in on cutting prices to reflect the drop in processor cost.

First gen Ultrabooks packing the Intel Core i5, for example, are looking to hit the $799-$899 range in January, and this is actually right in line with reports we’d already received suggesting that the Ultrabook line was due for some price drops in the early part of 2012 anyway, for much the same reasons that we’re hearing right now.

Cheaper computers will, necessarily, get more people interested in buying, and considering the recent price hikes that we’ve been seeing on hard drives following the recent flooding in Thailand and the like, it’s good to see the biggest expense of a computer is getting slashed in response, especially for those out there who were looking to do some computer shopping. And while more than a few out there will likely rather hold on and grab an Ivy Bridge-backed piece of hardware, for those who can make do with this generation, it’s a good time to get in.

So what do you guys think here? Going to take advantage of the now very likely price cuts on Ultrabooks to hit this January? Or are you going to hold out and save your cash for the upcoming slate of Ivy Bridge-based hardware? No matter what your plans, we always like hearing from you, so head on down to the comments section and tell us what you think!