HotHardware Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 quad-core processor
Intel's Core 2 Quad Q9300 has some rather large shoes to fill. This newly shipping, relatively low-cost (~$270) quad-core processor from Intel is a replacement for their long-standing price to performance champ, the Core 2 Quad Q6600. The Q6600 was the first quad-core in Intel's arsenal which was actually affordable, and even today, it remains one of the best values on the market. Not only is the Core 2 Quad Q6600 inexpensive for a quad-core at around $230, but it is extremely overclockable and provides a significant amount of computing power for the dollar. Core 2 Quad Q6600's are still in high-demand - a trend which is likely to continue until Intel physically removes from them from the market.
Like we said, rather large shoes to fill. Luckily, the Core 2 Quad Q9300 processor has some impressive new features under the hood along with a higher clock speed, all at a similar price point as the Q6600. As the Core 2 Quad Q9300 utilizes Intel's new 45nm manufacturing technology (as opposed to 65nm of the Q6600), potential buyers will be expecting the Q9300 to perform better and produce less heat compared to its predecessor - certainly a difficult task but one which we believe Intel can meet. We've already seen what Intel's 45nm manufacturing technology is capable of with its dual-core "Wolfdale" architecture, and if Intel can bring the same benefits to the quad-core market as it did for dual-cores with "Wolfdale", Intel will be in good shape...
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