Intel has just recently expanded its 45nm Core 2 product lineups with five new mobile CPUs. At the top of the list is the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000 processor, which runs at a speed of 2.0GHz on a 1066MHz FSB, has 6MB of L2 cache and a TDP rating of 45W. Available for $348 in 1,000 unit lots, the chip significantly lowers the cost of entry to the quad core genre of CPUs when compared higher end counterparts priced upwards of $850.

Acer was one of the first PC makers to announce a system with the new quad-core chip, the Aspire 8930G-7665, which besides the Q9000 processor offers a 18.4-inch LCD, 4GB of DDR3 memory, an Nvidia GeForce 9700M GT graphics card, 500GB SATA hard drive and a $1,799 starting price.

Intel also released four new dual core products: the 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo P8700, the 2.66GHz T9550, the 2.66GHz P9600 and 2.93GHz T9800 – all priced between $241 and $530. Each processor runs on a 1066MHz FSB and carry 6MB of L2 cache, but differ in the thermal design power used, with the “T” series processors rated at 35W and the “P” series at 25W.