Why are AMD machines so expensive?

[cummy]

With all the bad press AMD has been getting I was hoping to find that the cost of their laptops would be significantly less than the intel laptops. What I find is that the prices are competing directly with laptops with i5 and in some cases i7 CPUs. Is it that the AMD CPUs are better than people make them out to be? Are the manufacturing companies making a killing with AMD CPUs and they aren't really worth the money?
I honestly didn't expect to find an i7 below the $700 mark (or any AMD near that mark) but BestBuy now has me thinking.
BTW the laptop is not an Immediate concern but I'll need one in about 4 to 6 months.

 

[Lamiel]

AMD laptops can merit a price comparable to their Intel counterparts because they fill a need that Intel's machines don't - relatively affordable graphics performance. Intel's processors are certainly more powerful for productivity applications, but at this price point, all you'll get from them on the graphics end of things is a somewhat disappointing IGPU. AMD has made a point of integrating a far stronger graphics solution in their APUs; so it all comes down to what you're planning to use the machine for.

 

[adimeister]

Some stores sell the saleable items at a higher price because they know most of the market prefer this kind of brand, so they jack up the price. Try searching in other stores, local, online, etc.. You'll find some price differences.

 

[cummy]

I recognize all of this but still, if the AMD chips are significantly cheaper along with the mother board (and I'm basing this off desktop prices) I really can't see why prices should be so close. This is something that really needs some explanation. Somehow I think that these manufacturers are turning out far more AMD machines than they let up.
@ adimeister: I kind of figured that, smal input, high sales price, that's a seller's dream