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Intel has formally launched the first quad-core microprocessors giving them the current edge in their race with Advanced Micro Devices for the chip speed and efficiency crown.

The Quad-Core Intel Xeon Processor 5300 series is designed for use in mainstream servers. The most obvious benefit of the new quad-core processors is their inherent performance improvement. Prior to this launch, the fastest processors were dual-core meaning that the single microprocessor actually had two separate processors inside the chip that the operating system saw as a single processor. Now Intel has raised the bar to four internal processors. Due to the overhead of such processing, Intel claims these new quad-core chips are about 50% faster than the current performance of their dual core line, a Dual-Core Intel Xeon 5100 series processor.

Intel has another benefit it is claiming for the quad-core chips: power savings. Since the new processors use roughly the same amount of power as their dual-core siblings, the amount of power consumed compared to processing accomplished is, naturally, a better ratio.

So, how much effect does quad-core technology have on the small business community? In the short term, the effects of quad-core will be relegated to improving server performance. Since most small businesses have a single server to manage their centralized data, email and security, quad-core servers will just improve the responsiveness of that single server. A minority of small businesses which have three or more servers may see an immediate use for quad-core servers if their goal is to consolidate their current servers into a single server system due to quad-core’s improvement in speed and efficiency.