Intel Corporation has introduced 16 server and high-end PC processors vowing increased computer performance and energy savings. The company says these processors also eliminate eco-unfriendly lead and by 2008, halogen materials will also be eliminated. Cited as the "biggest transistor advancements in 40 years," by Intel Co-Founder Gordon Moore, the processors are the first to use Intel's Hafnium-based high-k metal gate (Hi-k) formula for the hundreds of millions of transistors inside these processors. These Intel Core 2 Extreme and Xeon processors are also the first to be manufactured on the company's 45-nanometer (nm) manufacturing process, further boosting performance and lowering power consumption. With these processors Intel will be able to design products that are 25 percent smaller than previous versions and thus, more cost-effective. The new 45nm processors boast nearly twice the transistor density of previous chips built on the company's 65nm technology - that is up to 820 million transistors for quad-core processors, each using Intel's new formula.

The Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 quad core processor is the world's first 45nm Hi-k desktop processor and it comes with a larger L2 cache and support for new Intel SSE4 media instructions. New in the lineup are 15 server dual-core and quad-core 45nm Hi-k Intel Xeon processors. The 12 new quad-core chips boast clock speeds ranging from 2GHz up to 3.20GHz, with front side bus speeds (FSB) up to 1600MHz, and cache sizes of 12MB. The three new dual-core chips feature clock speeds of up to 3.40GHz, an FSB of up to 1600MHz, and cache sizes of 6MB. The 45nm Hi-k Intel Xeon processors are compatible with server platforms using the Intel 5000 chipset family. Pricing of the 45nm Hi-k Intel Xeon processors, including the 45nm Hi-k Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 quad core depends on the model, speeds, features and amount ordered. Depending on the model, these processors are available today or within 45 days.

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