Headlines - Quad-core Intel laptop now available...down under

[HEXUS]

An Australian retailer is taking pre-orders for a laptop featuring Intel's unreleased quad-core mobile processor, the Core 2 Extreme QX9300.

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[staffsMike]

I think I'd be right in saying that the only mobile quads we'll have for sometime will be extreme variants and thus have a rediculous price tag. Mainstream mobile quads are set for next year as far as I remember.

[joshwa]

Are these desktop CPUs stuck in a laptop? Like in the olden days when desktop Pentium 4's were foolishly put in laptops burning all those who dared use them on their laps?

[TheReaFireblade]

Originally Posted by joshwa

Are these desktop CPUs stuck in a laptop?

I think they must be, 'coz there's a certain laptop builder in the UK who have been selling - or at least advertising the sale of, quad core CPU's in their top-spec laptop for at least 6 months - that I know of

Kobalt Computers state of their Commanche SLI...

Unlike traditional notebooks which use lower power mobile processors, the Comanche SLI utilises the latest Intel® Core® 2 Quad 45nm desktop processors.

[OneArmedScissor]

These are the first actual mobile quad cores, allegedly socket P.

Lots of people have been making laptops based on desktop chipsets that can use Core 2 desktop processors, including quad cores, for a long time, but this is brand new.

The thing I find interesting about this one and the Q9100 that is supposed to follow it is that their TDP rating is only 35-45 watts. That's a heck of an improvement if it directly compares to their desktop counterparts. You can put together your own quad core laptop with one of those Asus DIY notebooks for a lot cheaper, but it only supports the Q6000 series, and I always figured that would eat your battery alive, but it seems they got over that.

[staffsMike]

Yep these mobile quads have been on the roadmap for some time. But as you can see it's an expensive upgrade for what right now is a niche market.

[lost eden]

Originally Posted by joshwa

Are these desktop CPUs stuck in a laptop? Like in the olden days when desktop Pentium 4's were foolishly put in laptops burning all those who dared use them on their laps?

No. Any quad-core laptop available to buy right now is a desktop quad core chip crammed into a laptop, such as that ridiculous Sager (desktop quad-core, SLI 8800GTX, 3x HDDs in RAID5, dual optical drives, etc.). This new one that is open for pre-orders however will use the soon-to-be-released mobile quad cores.