Vendors ready PCs for new Intel chip

It's our first premium brand since the Pentium, Otellini says

Several PC vendors have announced new desktop and workstation PCs, following Intel’s launch of its Conroe Core 2 Duo processor last month.

Intel plans an “extremely fast production ramp” of the new chip design, taking just seven weeks to ship a million chips, Intel chief executive Paul Otellini says.

At the launch of the chip, Otellini said, “This is the best microprocessor we’ve ever designed. It’s our first premium brand since we introduced the Pentium 13 years ago.”

The three biggest PC vendors in the US — Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Gateway — have announced they will replace Intel’s Pentium D with the new chip.

The upgrade will allow users to handle digital photos and music 35% faster and play games 47% faster on desktops like the XPS 410 and Dimension 9200, according to Dell.

Dell will use the similar Core 2 Extreme chip in its Precision 390 workstation, improving graphics performance by 88% for computer-aided design and digital content creation, it says.

Likewise, HP announced it will use the Core 2 Duo to replace Pentium 4 and Pentium D chips, as it upgrades its xw4300 line to the new xw4400 workstation.

“Power users”, from engineers to video editors, will see both a large jump in performance and a drop in electricity needs, says Jim Zafarana, vice president of HP’s workstation global business unit.

Video-gamers are one of the largest markets being targeted by vendors and Gateway will use the Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Extreme in its FX510 desktop.

Other vendors selling Core 2 Duo-based computers include high-end gaming system makers Voodoo PC and Alienware, the latter of which is now owned by Dell.

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