There has been a flurry of announcements about new dual-core hardware as the industry prepares to standardise around the new technology.

AMD has released it's fastest ever chip with twin processors, the Athlon 64 FX-60, which is aimed squarely at the gaming market.

"Those who crave ultimate performance on 3D games and intense digital media applications can experience realistic physics and lighting, advanced artificial intelligence and amazing performance on digital media applications," said Bob Brewer, corporate vice president at AMD's desktop division.

The gaming sector is one of the few areas of PC manufacturing still making double figure margins.

Meanwhile Samsung has launched what it claims are the first dual-core processor notebooks, the X60 and R65.

"Notebook users increasingly demand powerful but stylish products that combine the functionality of a desktop PC with the portability of a notebook," said Mark Jennings, notebook marketing manager at Samsung Electronics in the UK.

"The inclusion of Intel's recently launched dual-core processor in these two notebooks enables Samsung to meet this demand and offer more computing power, increased battery life and complete connectivity, without compromising design and portability."