INTEL Quad Cores enter the Consumer Mainstream
It’s difficult to find a new computer that uses a single processor anymore. Dual core has become the industry standard. But things have started to change since the release of triple and quad cores. A hefty price tag was the only thing weighing down the quad core, but now that it has become more affordable it’s sure to eclipse all competitors.
Since first introducing the quad core in late 2006, Intel has sold over 10 million. But keep in mind that quad cores represent only 3% of total CPU sales in that time period. Beware that some of Intel’s quad cores are actually dual dual-cores and perform more poorly than a proper quad core. Recent price cuts make the quad cores a little more worthy of consideration - you can get an Intel Q6700 quad-core @ 2.66GHz for $266. Nevertheless, the pricing is still a bit unreasonable, seeing as the cheapest quad costs more than twice that of a dual yet performs significantly less than twice as well. As is always true for processors, time will eventually bring the price down.
