Intel shows off mobile quad-core CPUs at IDF Taiwan

Earlier today Intel kicked off the IDF in Taiwan. One of the things Mooly Eden, VP of Intel's mobile platforms group, showed off at the event were the first mobile quad-core processors.

The chip was one of the first samples that rolled out Intel's fab three days ago and ran Enemy Territory: Quake Wars without a problem. The processor used a big cooling solution but the product is still in the early stages of development - thermal characteristics still need to be finetuned. DigiTimes reports:

Intel claimed the chip contains 840 million transistors and will run at a power envelope of 45W, slightly higher than Intel's mainstream TDP of 35W, meaning that the extra performance is going to come at an understandable hit in battery life. Intel said it is on track to launch the CPU in the second half of 2008.

Sources at notebook makers revealed that, at launch, the CPU will fall into the Core 2 Extreme series. The core is part of the Penryn family and the chip will form part of the Montevina platform.