Intel: Let the quad-core age begin!

Let the age of quad-core computing begin! Today, two new products from Intel will hit the street (or perhaps more accurately, the gaming rig and the server room): the Core 2 Extreme QX6700 (Kentsfield) and the Xeon 5300 series (Cloverton). As we noted before, these two chips don't boast die-level integration (i.e. all four cores on one die) but they do manage to cram four cores into one socket--"true" quad-core parts won't arrive until mid-2007. Still, speed freaks can satisfy themselves by either picking up one of the uber-expensive chips or by ordering a quad-core-based server from HP, Dell or IBM. Curious about the sorts of things one might do with a quad-core chip? Look no further than today's Spotlight...

For the full-specs on Intel's new chips:
- check out this write-up from Ars Technica