Intel introduced its Core 2 Extreme quad-core processor, the QX6800 designed for gamers and digital media professionals according to Intelis press release on Monday.

"At the recent Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, several software developers demonstrated new games that have been "threaded" to take advantage of multiple processor cores and threads. This increased performance can help deliver smoother gameplay, more realistic game effects and more lifelike artificial intelligence. Some of the most exciting titles of the year such as Crytek’s Crysis, Gas Powered Games’ Supreme Commander and Flagship’s Hellgate London have undergone substantial joint engineering efforts with Intel to use more than two processing threads to their advantage," the release said.

"The performance and technology leadership we are delivering with our enthusiast quad-core processor lineup is a direct result of the reliability provided by Intel’s manufacturing and engineering strength," said Eric Kim, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Digital Home Group. "This translates to user benefits such as better gameplay with more intelligent computer-generated opponents and less wait time for demanding high-definition media editing."

The processor is based on a 65 nm process and runs at 2.93 GHz. It is available now for US$1,199.

Meanwhile, AMD reported on Monday that it plans a restructuring to cut costs by about US$500M in 2007. In early March, AMD warned investors that it would miss its quarterly revenue target. "It was the second quarter in a row that AMD showed signs of trouble in a bruising price war with Intel that has eroded profits for both companies in the $30 billion processor industry," ExtremeTech reported.