Intel Flexes Its Quad Core

After looking like it was asleep at the wheel for some time, Intel(INTC) has swung into adrenaline mode, displaying the fighting spirit investors have been clamoring for.

The Santa Clara, Calif., chip giant on Tuesday is introducing new processors that pack four separate cores. The product launch comes only a few months after Intel overhauled its entire line of microprocessors with chips based on its new Core microarchitecture.

It's an aggressive pace as measured by Intel's own track record. It also puts the company several months ahead of rival Advanced Micro Devices(INTC), which is not expected to release a quad-core chip until mid-2007.

"From a PR standpoint for Intel, it certainly signals very strongly that they're back in the game after a few years where things have been a little soft," says Steve Kleynhans, an analyst with industry research firm Gartner.

How much of an advantage Intel's lead time will translate to in sales, however, is another matter.

"There is an imbalance, and it's certainly an advantage for Intel," says Kleynhans. "But it's an advantage in a fairly small portion of the market."

Intel is releasing five quad core processors Tuesday, geared for servers and workstation PCs, in keeping with its announcement at the company's fall developer forum in San Francisco.

According to Intel, the new quad-core processors provide major improvements in performance and power consumption over its current class of chips.