Intel stings AMD with its Core 2 Duo processors

28 July 2006

Mumbai: The new set of processors – the Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme for consumer and business desktop and laptop PCs and workstations – unveiled by Intel Corporation, are set to reshape performance, look and power consumption of computers. The new product line delivers record-breaking performance while consuming less power.

"The Core 2 Duo processors are simply the best processors in the world," said Paul Otellini, president and CEO of Intel, adding, "Not since Intel introduced the Pentium processor has the industry seen the heart of the computer reinvented like this. The Core 2 Duo desktop processor is an energy-efficient marvel, packing 291 million transistors yet consuming 40 per cent lower power, while delivering the performance needed for the applications of today and tomorrow."

The Core 2 Duo processors have a very broad support with over 550 customer system designs already underway. Intel expects the system to spawn business in thousands of new components as computer sales pick up.

The Core 2 Duo processors, which use Intel's 65-nanometer silicon process technology, are built in some of the world's most advanced, high-volume output manufacturing facilities. The desktop PC version of the processors provide up to a 40 per cent increase in performance and consumes 40 per cent less energy than Intel''s previous best processor.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is set to launch its Rev. F dual-core Opteron chip on August 15. Computer makers, including Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Sun Microsystems, have planned to use the chip in their mainstream server and workstation lines.

AMD chips account for less than a quarter of the server market, but the company's Opteron chip has generated great interest among server makers. AMD's Opteron revenue for the second quarter of 2006 rose 141 per cent year-on-year, driving the company to a quarterly profit of $89 million against $11 million last year.