After years of anticipation, dual-core microprocessors are finally a reality. Both Intel and AMD were touting dual-core microprocessors as the inevitable future, and something that would certainly take computing to the next level. At numerous tradeshows and computing conventions, analysts and media predicted the launch date of multi-core CPUs; some said Intel would be the first to bring its chips to the market while others stated the opposite. Whatever the speculations, Intel was indeed the first one to
introduce its dual-core chips. In fact, they made a sudden decision to send out preview units to selected media outlets for independent performance testing and evaluation. Then, after hearing that AMD is about to launch its Opteron and dual-core Athlon 64 chips at the same time, Intel rushed once more and moved the official launch date forward to April 19th.