Intel Launches 'Extreme' Chip Line

Fellow Infopackets blogger Carlo Orlando recently reported on Intel's interest in supplying the world's poorest children with $100 laptops. Despite such a charitable goal, the company appears ready to retain its hold on the premium processor market. That's why Intel has already released an ultra-powerful chip, called the Core 2 Extreme X7800.

Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD, has been nothing but a thorn in the side of Intel in recent years. AMD beat Intel to the $100 laptop campaign, and over the course of the last twelve months or so, has effectively challenged for the top spot in next-gen processor popularity. Although Intel has been holding its own of late with the release of the Core 2 Duo line of chips, AMD's Turion line continues to sell extremely well.

The "extreme" move by Intel is one that hopes to dominate the hardcore market. The X7800 will not only be installed in desktop computers, but will also reach retail under the hood of selected laptop systems. In fact, the 2.6 GHz Core 2 Extreme X7800 notebook chip will be available soon, with the processor itself (and only the processor) selling for a lofty $851. (Source: pcworld.com)

That's no chump change, which is part of the reason Intel is primarily targeting the notebook crowd. With vendors finding little growth in the desktop market, Intel will likely have better luck selling high-end hardware to the consumer seeking an already higher priced laptop. (Source: vnunet.com)

A number of other chips are also making their way to market, and should be fully available in the next week or two. These include:

• 3.0 GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6850, $999
• 2.66 GHz Core 2 Quad Q6700, $530
• 3.0 GHz E6850, $266
• 2.66 GHz E6750, $183
• 2.33 GHz E6550, for $163

Oh, the price of PC gaming.