Leading chip maker Intel is expected to release a new Core 2 Duo CPU for portable computer systems sometime in Q1 next year. According to details currently made available, the Santa Clara, California-based company is going to deliver a faster-running mobile CPU, raising the performance level of its current high-speed Core 2 Duo processor, the T9600, which was just released last month.
The upcoming Core 2 Duo mobile CPU is said to deliver a core speed of 2.93GHz, up from the 2.8GHz on the company's current Core 2 Duo T9600. According to Fudzilla, chip maker Intel will release the T9800 CPU at a yet unannounced date in Q1 2009, by which time some users should have already gotten a chance at Intel's next-generation desktop CPUs, the Core i7.As with any officially unreleased product, details on the upcoming Intel mobile processor are rather scarce, but we can tell you that, aside from the higher clock rate, the new T9800 CPU is rather similar to Intel's T9600, as it features the same 1066MHz FSB and 6MB of cache. This means that there's going to be just a slight difference in performance between the two processors. Even so, some users out there might go the extra mile and choose the upcoming T9800 over the current T9600, despite an expected price tag of $530 at launch.
Unfortunately, this sums up just about every detail that is currently available on Intel's upcoming Core 2 Duo mobile processor. Further info should most likely emerge as the official unveiling is drawing near. However, most users will probably be more interested in the company's next-generation Core i7 processors, built on the Nehalem architecture. These new CPUs are said to deliver a new level of performance for upcoming desktop computer systems, and thus further increase Intel's market advantage over competitor AMD.

One of the high points with the technology used in Sony's Playstation 3 console is the Cell processor technology. A similar concept could be coming to the PC, and you'll have Toshiba to thank, not Sony.

Toshiba's SpursEngine is based on the same Cell processor technology as found in the PS3 and is used to process HD video with its four Cell cores. The technology makes easy work out of encoding and decoding HD content and can upscale standard-definition video to high-definition video without bogging down the CPU. Toshiba is already using the technology in its Qosmio G50 and F40 notebooks and hopes to expand to the desktop market via add-in cards by the end of the years.LeadTek and Thomson are already on board with plans to release a SpursEngine card within the next few weeks. LeadTek's version is expected to debut this month at about $286 and its Winfast PxVC 1100 card has already been shown at the Ceatec Exhibition in Japan. Thomson is targeting a November release in the $375 to $400 range.