VietNamNet Bridge – Series Core i have been available for more than one year. However, the products still are not favored by Vietnamese people as expected by Intel.

High prices, associated components expensive

Intel chipsets have always been a good choice for computer users, while Intel, in the last 30 years, has been proclaimed as the “number one” on the chipset market. However, over the last three years, besides the race with AMD in the “multiscore game”, it seems that Intel’s new products are failing to create significant impressions in the world market, especially in newly emerging markets like Vietnam.

With the launching of Core i recently, the chipset giant Intel seems to want to make a new breakthrough in the market. However, to date the products have not gained the desired positions.

With Core i3 being the lowest chipset and Core i7 Extreme being the most powerful one, Intel has been trying to diversify products to give consumers a wide range of choice. However, the initial price of 2.4 million dong for Core i3-530 still cannot grab the attention from desktop users.

Hong Quan, a graphic designer who is assembling a desktop computer to be reserved for design work, said that the chip alone costs more than two million dong, while P55 motherboards, RAM DDR3, hardware, screen and case all will cost over 13 million dong. Meanwhile, with the components, Quan will only get  a weak configuration.

“With the chipset Core 2 Duo,  you can get a powerful configuration computer with the same sum of money,” he said.

The use of new chipset line will force computer users to upgrade other components to new standards. Core i is still in its first life circle, while the depreciation period is still long, therefore, motherboard and RAM developers all have to set high prices in order to offset losses. As a result, it is not a surprise at all that consumers have to pay high prices.

Meanwhile, analysts have pointed out that the communication campaigns launched by Intel when marketing the latest Core i series prove to be weaker than the ones used when Core 2 Duo or Core Quad debuted. The latest chipset series are designed based on multicore, 32nm and 45 nm which has high efficiency to help reduce the electricity and thermal energy. However, while previously Intel organized roadshows to help consumers discover new products, so far Intel has not announced any organized activities .

A salesman at a computer supermarket on Le Thanh Nghi Road in Hanoi said most customers ask to purchase assembled desktop computers, or seek old chipsets such as Core Dual and Core 2 Duo. Very few people want to buy Core i because the assembling costs are very high.

What are the reasons?

One of the reasons that people are indifferent to desktops is the rapid growth of the laptop market. Laptops are also the reason that has forced Core i to take a back seat.

Currently, people choose laptops because they are diversified in designs, cheap, and they allow people to work everywhere.

A recent survey showed that 80 percent of desktop owners just use desktops to carry out simple office operations, or play simple games. Therefore, normal computers still satisfy basic requirements, and people do not actually need high configuration desktops.

With just 12 million dong, consumers can buy a laptop using Core i3 with high configuration. Meanwhile, with the same sum of money, they would not be able to assemble a powerful desktop.

The habit in using older operating systems has also hindered people from using Intel Core i. Most computers are still running on Windows XP, while the computers with Core I chipset would show optimal efficiency with Windows 7.

Vuong Long