Intel Answers Back in Chip War

Mustering all its industry clout and firepower, Intel(INTC Quote) officially released its most significant microprocessor in years Thursday.

Speaking to press and analysts at Intel's Santa Clara, Calif. headquarters, CEO Paul Otelini extolled the virtues of its new Core 2 Duo chip, which the company hopes will reverse a period during which its supremacy in the personal computer market has eroded.

"The Core 2 Duo processors are simply the best processors in the world," said Otelini, contending that the new chip signaled the most significant reinvention of the personal computer since Intel introduced the Pentium processor in 1993.

For Intel, whose shares have traded at three-year lows recently, the new microprocessors are one part of a broader plan to turn the company around. Intel is also in the midst of an internal reorganization to cut costs and shift the company's focus almost entirely on the PC market.

Intel said there are already more than 550 system designs under way -- the most in Intel's history -- featuring the new Core 2 Duo processor, which consists of 10 different versions of the chip with varying specifications.

The usual cadre of top-tier PC makers, including Hewlett-Packard(HPQ Quote), Dell(DELL Quote) and Gateway(GTW Quote), distributed simultaneous press releases touting new machines based on the processor. Desktops based on the processors are expected to be available in early August, while notebooks, which have experienced sales growth rates well above desktops PCs in recent months, will be available at the end of August, according to Intel.

One conspicuous absence among the PC makers joining the Core 2 Duo's coming-out party was Lenovo, the world's No.3 PC company and maker of the popular ThinkPad. The Chinese company has recently announced low-end PCs based on rival Advanced Micro Devices(AMD Quote)processors in addition to Intel chips.

While Lenovo has not announced any specific Core 2 Duo machines yet, spokesperson Ray Gorman said the company would have systems based on Intel's new chip by the end of the third quarter in its ThinkPad and ThinkCenter products, as well as in its Lenovo product line.