Major clone vendors pressure Apple by slashing prices and introducing multiprocessor upgrades.
Henry Bortman
Clone Watch
NOTHING LASTS forever in this business, especially the price of clones. Both Power Computing and DayStar Digital recently announced significant price cuts in their Mac OS-compatible lines. Look out, Dr. Amelio -- Apple's already dangerously slim margins are under even more pressure.
On the low end of the price spectrum, Power Computing chopped prices on its PowerWave and PowerCurve models by as much as 22 percent, although the cuts on some models were less impressive. The steepest reduction was on the PowerWave 604/120: A 16/1GB/CD configuration came down from $3,199 all the way to $2,480. PowerWave 604/150s dropped by around 15 percent. Curiously, though, the PowerWave 604/132 was reduced only $200, from $3,699 (16/1GB/CD) to $3,499, and the PowerCurve 601/120 (8/150/no CD) was cut by only a measly 50 bucks, from $1,849 to $1,799.
Over on the tonier side of town, DayStar's multiprocessor Genesis MP 600 is now a bit more in reach of the damn-the-cost-I-need-speed crowd. The list (direct from DayStar) price of this quad-604/150 speedster has dropped from $20,000 to $17,499, a 13-percent reduction. The list price of a Genesis MP 528 (four 604/132 processors) has dropped from $15,000 to $13,499. Dealer pricing averages around 10 to 15 percent below list.
If you've already got a Power Mac 7500, 8500, or 9500 and want to convert your system to a four-processor Genesis MP, there is now an alternative for you as well. For $7,500 (list) you can purchase a quad-604/132 upgrade kit (which includes a new chassis and power supply as well as DayStar's new multiprocessor daughtercard) for a 7500 or an 8500. The 9500 conversion kit lists for $8,500.
If four processors are a bit more than you've budgeted for, DayStar's upcoming nPOWER dual-processor upgrade card, under $3,000, may be your ticket to multiprocessor power. This will be the first dual-processor upgrade card available from any source.
