With its Core chips, Intel has clearly broken with its speed-demon past. Furthermore, the Core 2 Duo is significantly more powerful than AMD's best. The Core Solo and Core Duo were introduced in January. Both are used primarily in laptops. Apple also uses these chips in desktops. These are 32-bit chips. That's fine, because 99.9 percent of consumer software is 32-bit. The words Solo and Duo refer to the number of cores on the chip. A core is basically a complete microprocessor. The Solo has one usable core, the Duo two. Assuming the software you are using can access two cores, two is better than one. For instance, you may be using Adobe Photoshop for your photo editing. Photoshop is advanced; it should take advantage of the two cores.

The Core Solo is a Core Duo chip with one core disabled. So it is likely to be less powerful. But both chips are exceptional. The word "exceptional" does not do justice to the Core 2 Duo chip. (The number 2 connotes a new generation, according to Intel.) That processor not only has two cores; it also runs 64-bit programs. That isn't important today, but it will be eventually. It also runs at a higher speed than its Core cousins. Tests online indicate this chip is about 20 percent more powerful than comparable AMD equipment. That is a stunning jump. Expect AMD to produce muscular new chips. In fact, this competition will result in constant improvements. And it should hold down prices. Indeed on the July 21st weekend AMD announced major (in the of 50%) cuts to the higher end more expensive 64 bit chips. It sure is a great situation for consumers.