Intel's first quad-core mobile aimed at gamers
Core 2 Extreme QX9300 due Q3
14th March 2008 11:02 GMT
Intel has been known to have roadmapped its first quad-core mobile processor for a Q3 release - it demo'd the beast back in October 2007 - but now precise product details have emerged.
The gaming-oriented Core 2 Extreme QX9300 is - surprise, surprise - a 45nm 'Penryn' processor, so it contains plenty of L2 cache: 12MB to be precise, split 50:50 between each pair of cores. The chip will run at 2.53GHz on top of a 1066MHz frontside bus.
According to a report on Chinese-language site HKEPC, the QX9300 will have a power consumption envelope of 45W - 10W more than mainstream mobile Core 2 Duos' 35W TDP.
That means the CPU won't necessarily fit straight into existing notebook designs - the tolerances of a system designed tightly for a 35W processor are unlikely to extend to a 45W chip. Which is one reason why the QX9300 won't be part of Q2's Centrino update, 'Montevina' - or Centrino 2, as we should now start calling it.
It won't come cheap - as Core 2 Extreme CPUs never do. HKEPC's sources reckon the QX9300 alone will cost laptop makers $1038 a pop when they buy it in batches of 1000 chips.
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