The world's largest chipmaker Intel Corporation Thursday launched 10 core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processors for desktops, notebooks and workstations for the Indian market.

The new product line from the US-based global IT major not only offers high performance, but also consumes about 40 percent lower power than its Pentium processor. Desktops with Core 2 processors will be priced around Rs.29,500 in the domestic market.

"The Core 2 Duo desktop processor is an energy-efficient product, packed with 291 million transistors and consumes 40 percent less power than other processors in the Pentium or Celeron range," Intel Technology India Managing Director Ramamurthy Sivakumar told reporters here at a preview of the product line.

Built using Intel's 65 nanometer silicon process technology, the Core 2 Duo processor family consists of five desktop PC processors tailored for business, home and enthusiast users, such as high-end gamers and five mobile PC processors designed to fit the needs of a mobile lifestyle.

"The Duo processor-based workstations also deliver about 40 percent higher performance for diverse functions such as design, content creation and technical computing," Sivakumar said.

The processor family is based on the Intel Core micro-architecture to manage numerous tasks faster. They also operate efficiently when multiple applications are running such as writing e-mails while downloading music or videos and conducting a virus scan.

"These dual-core chips also improve tasks such as viewing and playing high-definition video, protecting the PC and its assets during e-commerce transactions and enabling improved battery life for notebooks," Intel's digital home brand management director Charlotte Lamprecht pointed out.

The new processors can be paired with Intel's 975X, 965 and Mobile Intel 945 Express chipset family.

Having started shipping production-ready Core 2 Do processors for all segments over the last couple of months, their systems are available from OEMs, resellers and integrators.