UPDATED: Intel has won the initial leg of a horse race to get the first batch of dual core x86 64-bit processors into the hands of OEMs (define).

The chipmaking giant said it has been shipping its Intel Pentium Processor Extreme Edition 840, Intel's first dual-core processor-based platform, to PC makers.

The company is in Taipei, Taiwan this week for a local version of its Intel Developers Forum.

The new Pentium runs at 3.2 GHz, backs Intel's Hyper-Threading and is supported by the company's 955X Express chipsets, formerly code-named Glenwood. The processors are designed to power gaming enthusiast platforms and workstations. Intel is also preparing a separate dual core chip for everyday desktop use, the Pentium D, which is expected before the summer.

Dell announced it would be one of the first PC makers to ship Intel's new dual core Pentium Extreme. The Round Rock, Texas-based hardware vendor said it would begin shipping its Dimension brand of PCs with the new chips relatively soon with prices starting at around $3,000.

HP and Gateway are expected to follow suit.

The shift to dual-core comes from the problems that semiconductor manufacturers encountered while trying to increase performance on a single core. Intel and AMD both found power consumption and heat generation were unacceptable at higher clock rates. So, now the companies are aggressively pursuing a distributed computing strategy.

"Over time, dual-core systems will become more and more standard for desktop computing as customers seek increased performance in more complex tasks," Roger Kay, analyst at IT market research firm IDC said.

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"Dual core shows particular promise in situations in which several compute-intensive tasks like video rendering and audio streaming need to be done at the same time."

As previously reported, Intel's its chief rival AMD is expected to have its dual core Opteron processors available on April 21 with its dual core Athlon family due out later this year. Intel's dual core Xeon processors code-named Paxville and Dempsey are expected to ship to OEMs in the second half of 2005.

Both companies are expecting to ship massive amounts of their respective dual-core chips for desktops, laptops and servers in 2006.

Update corrects the shipping date of Intel's first dual-core Xeon