Intel Core is a brand name used for various mid-range to high-end consumer and business microprocessors made by Intel.

In general, processors sold as Core are more powerful variants of the same processors marketed as entry-level Celeron and Pentium. Similarly, identically or more capable versions of Core processors are also sold as Xeon processors for the server and workstation market.

The current lineup of Core processors includes the latest Intel Core i7, Intel Core i5, and Intel Core i3, and the older Intel Core 2 Solo, Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Core 2 Quad, and Intel Core 2 Extreme lines.

The original Core brand refers to Intel's 32-bit mobile dual-core x86 CPUs that derived from the Pentium M branded processors. The processor family used a more enhanced version of the Intel P6 microarchitecture. It emerged in parallel with the NetBurst microarchitecture (Intel P68) of the Pentium 4 brand, and was a precursor of the 64-bit Core microarchitecture of Core 2 branded CPUs. The Core brand comprised two branches: the Duo (dual-core) and Solo (Duo with one disabled core, which replaced the Pentium M brand of single-core mobile processor).

Coordinates: 37°23′16.54″N 121°57′48.74″W / 37.3879278°N 121.9635389°W / 37.3879278; -121.9635389

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest and highest valued semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most personal computers. Intel Corporation, founded on July 18, 1968, is a portmanteau of Integrated Electronics (though a common misconception is that "Intel" is from the word intelligence^{[citation needed]}). Intel also makes motherboard chipsets, network interface controllers and integrated circuits, flash memory, graphic chips, embedded processors and other devices related to communications and computing. Founded by semiconductor pioneers Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore and widely associated with the executive leadership and vision of Andrew Grove, Intel combines advanced chip design capability with a leading-edge manufacturing capability. Though Intel was originally known primarily to engineers and technologists, its "Intel Inside" advertising campaign of the 1990s made it and its Pentium processor household names.

Core 2 is a brand encompassing a range of Intel's consumer 64-bit x86-64 single-, dual-, and quad-core microprocessors based on the Core microarchitecture. The single- and dual-core models are single-die, whereas the quad-core models comprise two dies, each containing two cores, packaged in a multi-chip module. The introduction of Core 2 relegated the Pentium brand to the mid-range market, and reunified laptop and desktop CPU lines, which previously had been divided into the Pentium 4, Pentium D, and Pentium M brands.

The Core 2 brand was introduced on 27 July 2006, comprising the Solo (single-core), Duo (dual-core), Quad (quad-core), and in 2007, the Extreme (dual- or quad-core CPUs for enthusiasts) subbrands. Intel Core 2 processors with vPro technology (designed for businesses) include the dual-core and quad-core branches.

The Core 2-branded CPUs include: "Conroe"/"Allendale" (dual-core for desktops), "Merom" (dual-core for laptops), "Merom-L" (single-core for laptops), "Kentsfield" (quad-core for desktops), and the updated variants named "Wolfdale" (dual-core for desktops), "Penryn" (dual-core for laptops), and "Yorkfield" (quad-core for desktops). (Note: For the server and workstation "Woodcrest", "Tigerton", "Harpertown" and "Dunnington" CPUs see the Xeon brand.)