Today Intel released the highly-anticipated quad-core version of its powerful Core 2 desktop processor series. Little more than two Core 2 Duo E6700 cores in one socket package, today's model QC6700 offers the same performance and efficiency enhancements found in its dual-core predecessor.

Particularly well-suited to professional graphics and video applications, buyers could see their work time reduced by up to 50%. Conversely, gamers are unlikely to see immediate benefits, simply because games aren't written to take advantage of additional cores. Maximum performance details haven't changed since our September 10th preview, from which the following (foreshortened) charts were gleaned.

It almost appears that application popularity is inversely proportional to performance gained. Yet if Quake 4's dual-core patch is any indication of things to come, quad-core software enhancements should be very effective, and will arrive in a somewhat timely manner. That said, we don't think it's too realistic to expect developer responses over the early winter months.