Intel said Tuesday that systems containing the world’s fastest processors yet are finally out, promising speeds that will boost both graphics performance and data-crunching abilities in workplace and home environments.

The Quad Core Intel Xeon processor builds on the advances made by Intel’s dual-core Core Duo chip earlier this year, offering 50 percent more performance over the Core Duo and four times more performance over single-core chips (see Dell Intros Core Duo Notebooks).

Intel’s news was anticipated slightly by Dell, which announced last week that it’s using the chip in certain servers and workstations (see Dell Goes Quad-Core Crazy).

Kirk Skaugen, vice president and general manager of Intel’s server products group, said he expects his company’s quad-core technology will soon infiltrate all areas of computing.

“It will filter down to more volume [and mainstream] areas,” he said, referring to a processor for desktops that will be introduced in the first quarter of 2007.

For now, the chip will be limited to servers and workstations made by such vendors as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Rackable Systems, and Dell, as well as high-end gaming computers from HP’s Voodoo division, Falcon Northwest, and Dell’s Alienware division.

The difference in gaming alone was obvious during an Intel demonstration that showed how just one less core reduced a cinema-quality game to a fast-paced slideshow.

“In servers, quads will be mainstream in six months,” said analyst Peter Kastner, vice president of enterprise integration at the Aberdeen Group. Even Apple will probably jump on the wagon soon, he said, predicting “a quad workstation for Steve [Jobs] to drool over at Macworld in January.”

Not for the Mainstream

But like neckties and sensible pumps, quad-core processors may not see much popularity outside the workplace. Though Mr. Skaugen claimed the technology will eventually filter down to mainstream users such as desktop owners, one analyst said he doubted consumers really need quad-core.

“The market is already adjusting to dual-core,” said Jim McGregor, In-Stat’s research director for enabling technologies. “Most consumers aren’t going to need the power of a quad-core.”

That’s because dual-core is perfectly fine for average users, even those who want to engage in multimedia activities at home.

Indeed, Mr. McGregor said a so-called heterogeneous core—which adds multiple abilities like game cards to a single processor—could be the next wave of consumer computers.

Then there’s Intel’s biggest competitor, Advanced Micro Devices. AMD posted financial results last quarter that in some aspects were better than Intel’s (see AMD: Profits Jump, Investors Dump).

AMD is not expected to unveil its own quad-core processors for at least two quarters. When it does, though, the chips could prove to be stiff competition for Intel’s—especially if AMD’s chips fit more easily into existing system designs.

But Intel executives seemed confident that its head-start will ensure that the company will grab big customers for quad-core chips before AMD even has a chance.

“The capabilities of quad-core microprocessors will bring new possibilities for science, entertainment, and business,” Intel CEO Paul Otellini said in a statement.