New motherboards based on Intel’s integrated 845G and discrete 845E chipsets will not hit the market until mid-May, but rumors about the gray-market release of the two chipsets have been circulating in the clone market lately.
However, surprisingly, the gray-market 845G and 845E chipsets are said to be quoted at US$40 and US$35, respectively, US$1 higher than their official prices. Industry sources said that the unusual pricing should have been due to Intel’s initially limited supply of the chipsets. As usual, Intel has shipped the chipsets first to the international OEM companies and then to Taiwan’s first-tier board makers, according to sources. Second-tier manufacturers only received minimal supply. With the chipset shipments increasing, the price of the gray-market chipsets is expected to fall accordingly.
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