Intel's first dual-core chip for Centrino laptops. Introduced in early 2006, the 32-bit Core Duo CPU was also the first x86 chip used in the Mac, as Apple transitioned from PowerPC to x86 (see
MacBook Pro). Note that Core Duo and Core 2 Duo chips are not the same (see
Intel Core).
The Core Duo was a dual-core chip that dramatically reduced power consumption over Pentium chips. For example, when a laptop was placed in sleep mode, the Core Duo flushed its cache to main memory, because dynamic RAM chips use less power to retain content than static RAM cache chips. See
dual core,
Centrino,
Intel Core and
Core 2.
Core Solo and Xeon
The Core Solo CPU was a single-core version of the Core Duo. Dual core chips rejected in manufacturing were turned into Core Solo CPUs by disabling the core with the failed components. A low voltage Xeon LV chip that used the same microarchitecture as the Core Duo was also introduced for blade servers. See
Xeon.