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.

Intel’s dual-core Atom will see the light of the day in Q4 and is slated to be released on September 21, 2008, according to Fudzilla. It will be the first dual-core processor in the power efficient Atom family that has emerged as a popular powerplant for netbooks.The dual-core Atom 330 will set you back by $43, which is quite reasonable as the Atom 230 single-core processor is priced $29. The Atom 330 with its 1.6 GHz clock speed, 533 FSB and 1 MB L2 cache will be ideal for budget rigs. Once the Atom 330 release is out of the way, all eyes will be on the launch of 1.87 GHz Atom processors.

What do you get when you take Intel's Core 2 Duo E6850 processor but make it faster, cooler-running, and about $60 cheaper? Simple: you get the Core 2 Duo E8400, which seems to be the first of Intel's new line of 45nm desktop chips to have rolled into the e-tail market. Newegg currently sells the E8400 for $219.99 with free shipping, so we've selected it for our deal of the week.

Like the E6850, the Core 2 Duo E8400 runs at 3GHz with a 1333MHz front-side bus and a 65W thermal envelope. However, the E8400 is manufactured using 45nm process technology instead of 65nm, has 6MB of cache instead of 4MB, and features some architectural improvements (including support for the new SSE4 instruction set) that help it perform better clock-for-clock than its predecessor. If you need a speedy processor but can't afford to spend an extra $60 for the Core 2 Quad Q6600, or you're eager to see how far you can overclock Intel's new 45nm core, this chip should be a fine choice. Make sure to double-check motherboard compatibility before purchasing, though.