Intel details Conroe chips for vPro PCs

Processors to underpin Intel's upcoming vPro coporate desktop platform offer impressive power

Intel has disclosed details of the Core 2 Duo desktop processors it will make available later this month. Core 2 Duo is a key component of Intel's forthcoming vPro corporate desktop platform, which is designed with enhanced management capabilities and better support for virtualisation.

The dual-core chip, formerly codenamed Conroe, will ship in four initial speed grades; the E6700, E6600, E6400 and E6300. These are clocked at 2.67GHz, 2.4GHz, 2.13GHz and 1.86GHz, respectively. A further model, the Core 2 Extreme X6800, is aimed at enthusiasts and clocked at 2.93GHz.

The E6700 and E6600 versions of the chip have 4MB L2 cache shared between the two processor cores, while the E6400 and E6300 have 2MB. All four chips have a 1,066MHz system bus.

Prices for the Core 2 Duo start at $183 for the E6300, rising to $530 for the E6700.

Labs tests of the Core 2 Duo and Extreme show that the new chips offer very impressive performance.