AMD's new "Brisbane" Athlon 64 X2 processors based on 65nm process technology aren't even available from retailers yet, but The Inquirer says Intel already plans to tweak the slowest two chips in its Core 2 Duo lineup in preparation. For both the Core 2 Duo E6400 and the Core 2 Duo E6300, Intel will introduce a new L2 revision that cuts rated C1E power utilization from 22W to 12W. C1E refers to the Core 2 Duo's enhanced halt state, which is reached when the chip is idling.
The 10W drop may not sound like much, but AMD boasted earlier this month that idle power consumption for its 65nm Brisbane chips was a scant 7.5W. As The Inq suggests, the apparent difference between 22W and 7.5W could make Intel look bad to the eyes of organizations that keep hundreds or thousands of machines running day and night.
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