The cores could work together to accomplish more than any hot-running, single-core Pentium could do alone.

FORBES: Hard Core

On the desktop front (shown after the jump), the PC Station BJ series sports a slim, compact form factor, an Intel Celeron D, Pentium 4, or Core 2 Duo E4300 depending on model, up to 1GB of DDR2 RAM, between 250GB and 320GB of HDD space, a dual-layer DVD burner, Windows Vista, and a number of matching displays between 17- and 22-inches.

ENGADGET: Sotec's intros PC Station BJ / BX desktops and WH5513P laptop

Performance-ready for the highly mobile consumer that needs to remain productive, the Gateway UC Series uses either Intel Centrino 2 or Intel Centrino Processor Technology, along with an Intel Core Duo, Intel Core 2 Duo or Intel Pentium processor.

ENGADGET: Gateway trots out bargain-minded 15.6-inch MD Series notebooks

That insight is what led to the success of first the Pentium M, and more recently Intel's so-called Core architecture.

FORBES: Hard Core

All the Celeron and Pentium models have two cores and two threads each, but the Core kicks it up to four threads with the help of Hyperthreading.

ENGADGET: Intel Ivy Bridge now available in budget-friendly silicon

This year Intel will lap AMD by finally scrapping the old Pentium-chip architecture in favor of a suite of lower-temperature, dual-core microprocessors that consume 35% less power and increase performance by 80%.

FORBES: Magazine Article