Intel rolls out 2.33GHz Core Duo chip

The 65-nanometer chip lands atop the company's line of Core Duo "Yonah" processors, which have found their way into Apple Computer's iMac, Mac mini, MacBook and MacBook Pro line computers.

Designed specifically for high end notebooks and desktop replacement devices, the processor bears the official name of "Core Duo T2700" and will sell for $637 in quantities of 1,000. The previous high-end model, the 2.16GHz Core Duo T2600, was recently reduced to $423 in lots of 1,000.

According to Daily Tech, the new 2.33GHz chip is already shipping at some retail outlets and should start showing up in high-end notebooks very soon.

Apple's 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro notebooks currently sport a top speed of 2.16GHz, via the Core Duo T2600.

Also this week, Intel began discrete shipments of its Core Duo U2500 ultra-low voltage (ULV) CPU. The 1.2GHz Yonah chip is the only low voltage dual-core chip currently offered by the company, sporting a thermal design point (TDP) of 9W.

During normal operation, the $289 chip is said to consume less than 1W.