On Monday, processor manufacturer Intel released its long-anticipated Penryn-based dual-core processors for notebooks while indicating that quad-core mobile processors may be pushed back while power consumption issues are resolved.

According to Macworld UK, the updated Core 2 Duo processors, known as the T8100, T8300, T9300 and T9500 models, sport clock speeds between 2.10 and 2.60 GHz and feature three to six megabytes of onboard shared L2 cache.

The announcement makes it more likely that Apple will announce updated MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops at next week's Macworld Expo. Penryn-based Mac Pro units may also be likely, though a quad-core MacBook Pro seems to be a more likely possibility later in 2008.

The company's Core 2 Duo processors will be delivered to laptops based on the Centrino mobile platform. Manufactured using the 45-nanometers process, the new CPUs (central processing units) will provide laptops with better performance and improved battery life, said Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager, Intel Mobile Platforms Group.

Quad-core processor notebooks, which will probably require more energy, may make their way to high-end gaming and workstation notebooks first, according to Eden.

As a means of conserving battery life, the new Penryn-based Core 2 Duo processors now feature a power management state called Deep Power Down technology, which helps to reduce a processor's power when not functional.

Other improvements in the processor over the previous 65-nanometer chips include instruction sets which help graphics processing and high definition video tasks. Intel has also stated that the new chips feature smaller transistors which help cut down on electricity leaks. The new units feature high-k metal-gate transistors, which make the processors faster and less leaky when compared with earlier generations which used silicon gates.

Prices for the chips range from US$209 for the T8100 chip to US$530 for the T9500 chip.

Despite the announcement and Macworld Expo's close proximity, no vendors have announced models to incorporate the new Penryn-based chips.

In addition to the revised Core 2 Duo unitts, Intel will ship also three new Xeon quad-core processors, with clock speeds ranging from 2.5Ghz to 2.83GHz and shared L2 cache from 6MB to 12MB, with prices from US$266 to US$530. The company's new dual-core Xeon E3110 processor, which runs at 3GHz and includes 6MB of shared L2 cache, is priced at US$188.

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