NewsFlash: San Francisco (CA) - Lots of new processors will be announced next week at the Intel Developer Forum. Among them will be two special processors for enthusiast notebooks.
Intel’s first two quad-core processors for notebooks will be the Core 2 Quad Q9100 and Core 2 Extreme QX9300. The 9100’s four cores will run at 2.26 GHz, while the Extreme Edition will be clocked at 2.53 GHz. Both CPUs integrate FSB1066, but only the QX9300 has an unlocked multiplier.
In terms of price, don’t expect these new flagships to be cheap. Tray-pricing for the Q9100 will be $851; the Extreme QX9300 will go for $1036. Vendors are likely to charge even more for dual-core to quad-core upgrades. For example, Eurocom charges $1220 for an upgrade from a 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo P8400 to a Core 2 Extreme QX9300.
Both quad-core CPUs are identical to their desktop counter-parts, albeit with a reduced FSB clock (266 MHz QDR instead of 333 MHz QDR or 400 MHz). The CPUs will also feature 12 MB of L2 cache.
