Intel on Monday introduced three new high-efficiency quad-core processors. The new processors will use just 65W of power versus the usual 95W required by desktop processors. According to Intel, low energy requirement of the new CPU will not only make them eco-friendly, but also more space efficient. The top of the line 2.83GHz Core 2 Quad Q9550s will have 12MB L2 cache and will be priced $369. The second processor in the lineup will be 2.66GHz Core 2 Quad Q9400s that will have 6MB of L2 cache for $320. The last in the lineup is 2.33GHz Core 2 Quad Q8200s with 4MB L2 cache and it will be priced $245. HP has already announced Firebird 803 gaming desktop based on the new processors.
Along with introduction of new processors, Intel also reduced prices of its present processor lineup. Desktop processor like Q9650 (quad core 3.0GHz) was reduced from $530 to $316 and Pentium dual-core E5200’s price was dropped from $64 to $54. On the mobile side, price of Core 2 Duo P8600 was reduced from $241 to $209, whereas the mobile Celeron 570 was reduced from $134 to $70. The Xeon X3370 also saw a price cut from $530 to $316. Overall, most server, desktop and mobile processors saw a price drop of up to 40 percent. Intel dropped the price of its processor lineup to make room for recently announced Intel processors and upcoming Intel processors, as well as in response to AMD’s recently announced Phenom II “Dragon” desktop platform.
In other Intel related news, the company is planning to target the ultra-portable notebooks priced $699 to $899 with their new consumer ultra-low voltage (CULV) platform. By launching the new CULV platform Intel will divide the mobile market in four segments, the traditional notebook market with 12.1-inch and above screen sizes, the netbooks market based on Atom processors, the mobile Internet device (MID) market based on Menlow platform and the new ultra-portable notebook that will have screen size between 11-inch to 13-inch and will use the new CULV platform.
On the netbook side, Intel is planning to launch next generation Atom processor codenamed Pineview in second half of 2009. The Atom processor will come in single-core version for netbook and dual-core version for nettops. The Pineview processor will use 45nm process technology and will have built-in Northbridge, memory controller and integrated graphics processor (IGP). This will reduce the motherboard size by 60 percent resulting in computers that are smaller in size. The new processor will also be more energy efficient, as their TDP will drop from 8W to 7W, while the average power consumption will be only 2W.
Even though Intel’s last quarter earnings dropped 90 percent the company plans to fight the hard economic times by introducing innovative new products.