Intel Adds 3 Quad-core Chips to the Mix

Taking advantage of the attention lavished on the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Intel is scheduled to roll out three new quad-core processors on Jan. 8.

Although CES, which will run from Jan. 8 to Jan. 11, is a showcase for consumer electronics, Intel is using the showroom floor to launch two quad-core processors for servers.

These new Xeon 3200 processors will bring the company’s total number of server quad-core chips to seven. Intel also offers a Core 2 Extreme quad-core QX6700 processor for high-end gaming systems and is rolling out a quad-core chip for mainstream PCs.

The two new quad-core processors, the X3220 and the X3210, were designed for single-socket servers. The X3220, which has a clock speed of 2.4GHz, and the X3210, which has a clock speed of 2.13GHz, each have a total of 1066MHz of FSB (front side bus) support and 8MB of Level 2 cache.

The price for the Xeon X3220 is $851 per 1,000 units shipped, while the X3210 is priced at $690 per 1,000 units shipped. These processors have already started to ship to OEMs, according to an Intel statement.

Click here to read more about Intel’s quad-core processor lineup.

In addition to its two enterprise offerings, Intel launched its Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor for mainstream PC desktops. The processor has 1066MHz of FSB support and 8MB of L2 cache, and runs at 2.4GHz. It works with Intel’s 975X and 965 supporting chip sets. The Core 2 Quad is priced at $851 per 1,000 units shipped.

Intel will be demonstrating at CES how the Core 2 Quad works with PCs that use the company’s multimedia technology, Viiv, which debuted at the 2006 CES.

By offering additional quad-core processors, Intel is looking to further distance itself from rival Advanced Micro Devices, which is not scheduled to release its own quad core, code-named Barcelona, until the middle of 2007.

Click here to read about AMD’s Live multimedia technology.

In the meantime, AMD has tried to demonstrate that its quad-core design, which combines four cores on a single piece of silicon, is superior to Intel’s design, which adds a pair of dual-core chips in a single package.

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