Dell Offers Cheaper Workstation, Cuts Prices

Dell Computer Corp. said it is offering a new entry-level workstation priced well below its rivals and that it has cut prices up to 16% on existing workstations. A spokesman for the company, based in Round Rock, Texas, said the moves are part of an aggressive bid to gain market share at the low end of the workstation market, where machines run Intel-based Pentium II and Xeon processors and Microsoft Windows NT software. Workstations are used by researchers and to perform computer-aided design tasks. Dell’s major competitors in the market for workstations running Intel processors are IBM Corp., Compaq Computer Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. With prices starting at $1,997, the new Dell Precision Workstation 210 is about $400 cheaper than competing single-chip workstations, spokesman Jon Weisblatt said. The company also said it has cut prices on its fastest model, the Precision WorkStation 610, to a starting price of $2,942, or 16% below its previous price. Dell also said prices on its mid-range Precision WorkStation 410 have been cut by up to 14%. Prices now start at $2,096. Dell shares rose 63 cents to close at $66.13 on Nasdaq.