Intel launches new quad-core chips

Intel launches its first quad-core chips on Tuesday – the product of a reorganisation at the world's biggest chip company that is creating a dramatic acceleration in the performance of its products.

Over the past year, the company has moved from traditional processors with a single brain to those with two, and now four, in a move that has seen it overtake its rival Advanced Micro Devices and recapture its technology lead.

Dell Inc., the world's second-largest personal computer maker, said Wednesday it started selling machines with microchips from Intel Corp. that have four processing cores, delivering faster performance and better energy efficiency.

Dell said it was offering Intel's quad-core version of its Xeon chip for server computers that run business networks, and a quad-core version of the Core 2 Extreme chip for high-end desktop computers used for heavy-duty computing like graphics and 3-D modeling.

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