AMD still has the best processors
currently available in the desktop market. As soon as Conroe is unleashed they will lower their prices, but until then they are going to make as much money off of their current lineup (including AM2) for as long as they can. They've made a name for themselves and need to make as much money off of it as they can before Intel starts gaining ground again. Most people won't even know what a Conroe, AM2, Core 2 Duo, etc, is until the holiday season. AMD knows they can still make money because of that. This is why competition is a good thing.
Let me translate:
"We intended to build processors that offer good performance for the money in the past, but now we decided to go the greedy way and we just want to rip off our customers instead of trying to offer the customer better prices just like the competition does."
Thats what they would say, if they werent using marketing-language.
Intel uses the same marketing language & has just as much greed. Intel not only
can, but
needs to market Conroe at a better price point than AMD. They have much to lose if they don't start getting
aggressive. They've learned that AMD can compete with them and that they (Intel) are no longer the top dog across the board. They have no choice but to get
competitive now, something they haven't been doing lately even though they were more than willing to use that same marketing language to make people think they were with their current product line-up.
It's just business. It's about making money. Plain and simple. Neither Intel nor AMD care about what's best for
YOU. They only care about your money and their bottom line.
Investors won't run away from either one right now because they'll want to invest in both companies. I would think more along the lines of more investors coming onboard with both of them because they see the competition is going to heat up. Both companies have proven that they can do very well when challenged. Investors won't jump ship until one or the other starts drowning. Neither company is even close to that at this point.