At just 65W, Intel's new S-series quad-core processors have a TDP (thermal design power) rating that's 30W lower than traditional Core 2 Quad chips, which are all rated for 95W.  In fact, the only other 65W chips Intel offers are from the Core 2 Duo line-up of dual-core processors. The beauty is, these new lower power chips perform just like true quad-cores of course but produce a lot less heat and consume less energy.

High performance quad-core chips with the thermal envelope of dual-cores? It almost sounds too good to be true.  Let's look and see if they are...