Intel's Core 2 Duo microprocessor launched this past week, and the event was appropriately sensational for the chip's highly anticipated release.

In what might be considered the most significant occurence in Intel's history, a glitzy show with the theme "believe the hype" whipped anxious techies into a fury at the company's Santa Clara headquarters.

And, according to many insiders, Intel's chip actually lives up to its billing. The 2 Duo features some massive spikes in speed while at the same time managing to significantly decrease power consumption.

In comparison with its previous chips, Intel boasts that performance has climbed a whopping 40%, with drains to the general power being reduced by another 40%. The result is a chip that makes Intel's competitor -- AMD -- look like the manufacturer of Commodore 64 parts. (Source: zdnet.com)

Despite announcements that the prices of its current generation processors would drop as the Core 2 Duo rolled out, both Intel and AMD appear reluctant to follow through with such promises.

Both companies' flagship microprocessors remain near the $1000 USD mark, leaving them hardly enticing for anyone aware of the 2 Duo's mere existence. The problem lies with a messy second quarter, which showed devastatingly slow sales for both AMD and Intel. Neither is particularly interested in lowering prices of current generation wares to $100-200 in the middle of a chip depression.

For the time being, the availability of the Core 2 Duo will hardly force anyone to change their prices. To put it into some kind of perspective, the 2 Duo makes the Xbox 360 launch in the U.S. look like candy being thrown from a parade boat. If that analogy fails to register -- and it probably will -- just know that most vendors still don't have Core 2 Duo's for sale. (Source: zdnet.com)

On a related note, Alienware announced that it would, in the near future, be packaging the Core 2 Duo in its ultra-gaming machines. While system prices with the embedded Intel chip start around $1800 USD, with a few options added here and there the total can easily climb upwards of $10,000. (Source: neoseeker.com)

All this writer can say is, "that thing better be fast."