You might not have noticed, but in the last year or so, Intel has been totally smashed by AMD. Their processors have not met the efficiency of AMD and, as a result, Intel has lost a lot of market shared and big clients (including Dell).

Intel, has always focused on performance.  How many Gigahertz can they squeeze out of a chip.  The result has been extremely fast chips that run hot and suck power.  So fast, in fact, that no one needs them anymore, and so dealers aren't buying them. 

 Intel's new game plan follows the wisdome of AMD: Pay less attention to speed, and more to efficiency. Oh if only car manufacturers would see that light as well! The true goal of efficient processors lies in battery life of portable computers, but we can't help but see the conservation angle.

Intel is fighting the battle for efficiency on a lot of fronts. Most interestingly by increasing the number of processing cores per CPU.  This allows each core to operate at a much lower clock speed without losing overall speed. This step alone is making the new Core 2 Duo (which we at EcoGeek are hoping to own fairly soon) six times more efficient. This means longer lasting portables, cooler desktops and, most importantly, more efficient households.