Intel to Unveil Single Brand for New Chips (AP)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Intel Corp. on Monday plans to unveil a single brand name for a new generation of chips for laptop PCs and desktop machines, calling them the Core 2 Duo.

The company is counting on the chips, which are based on a new design, to regain market share lost to several high-performing chips made by competitor Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Intel's new architecture, dubbed "Core," delivers two processors on a single chip, driving better performance while consuming less power.

Core 2 Duo will phase out the Pentium 4 brand for desktop processors and the Core Duo for laptop chips. The older brands were based on two different designs. The chips, code-named Conroe for desktops and Merom for laptops, are scheduled to start shipping in the third quarter.

The single architecture will make it easier for software engineers to make programs that run well on both desktop and mobile PCs, according to a press release.

Intel also plans to announce it will name a high-performance processor for computer gamers the Core 2 Extreme.

Intel executives said in March the Conroe will deliver 40 percent better performance and consume 40 percent less power. During the past few years, power efficiency has emerged as a key selling point, as the costs of powering computers and keeping them cool have grown.

The Core 2 Duo use a new manufacturing process that shrinks the size of a chip's circuitry. That allows Intel to put more transistors on a single chip, lowering manufacturing costs and boosting performance and power efficiency.

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