Intel's S-Series Processors: Core 2 Quad Isn't Dead Yet

Traditionally, the debut of a new product hardware product line by a major manufacturer would cause the old, out-of-date product line to be de-commissioned, or at least forgotten. Nvidia keeps its product line modern by re-naming the same product once the old name has aged, and AMD, while still producing many Athlon X2s, has focused the vast majority of its new product efforts on the Phenom and Phenom II processors. You'd think that would mean that Core i7 would now be the focus of Intel. In reality, we still have the same Core i7 products we had when the chip launched. Intel's older architectures, on the other hand, have seen numerous new products launched.

Perhaps it has to do with the economy. Perhaps it has to do with the lack of demand for extremely high-end hardware. Either way, the Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad still seem to have a lot of life in them. And some of that life is expressing itself in Intel's new "S" series of Core 2 Quads.

Actually, the S doesn't seem to stand for anything. Its just there. Don't pay it any mind; there have certainly been more confusing marketing schemes used for new products. What matters is how these products are different than their predecessors, and in this, there isn't much that needs to be understood. The S-series processors use less power than the previous Core 2 Quads. That's it. That's the only difference.

Which isn't to say that power savings is not important. In fact, saving power can be very important. Saving power keeps more money in your pocket, keeps wildlife happy, and reduces the amount of heat your computer has to exhaust. I think those are respectable traits for any piece of hardware, and Intel seems to agree, as they haven't simply released one product. Instead, they've duplicated three of their Core 2 Quad products buy unleashing the Q8200S , the Q9400S , and the Q9550S. All of these products have a 65W TDP, instead of 95W, which is standard for Core 2 Quads.