Designed for server, desktop and notebook computers, Intel’s new Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processors combine dramatically improved performance with significantly lower power consumption.
The company will offer 10 models of its latest-generation dual-core CPU chips, which use a 65nm form factor and offer clock speeds from 1.86 to 2.93 GHz. The server versions are now shipping; desktop versions are expected to ship by mid-August and chips for notebook computers by the end of August. Intel claims that the new chips will deliver up to 40-percent faster performance while consuming 40-percent less power than Intel’s previous-generation Pentium D Processor 960.
Much of the speed improvement is in floating-point calculations, which is important for audio and video production. Performance demonstrations focused on enhanced high-definition video playback and editing and improved battery life in notebook computers, but Intel representatives assures us that multitrack audio and plug-in performance would also improve significantly, especially in threaded applications such as Cakewalk SONAR.
For more information, see www.intel.com/core2duo.
—Steve Oppenheimer, Electronic Musician
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