Intel has started volume shipping of its 1.6-GHz Celeron Dual-Core E1200 processor based on Intel's Core microprocessor architecture. The chip comes with 512KB of cache and uses an 800-MHz front-side bus for main memory interconnection.

The release of the E1200 shows how popular dual-core processors have become among the computer users. Intel is currently offering dual-core Celeron processors for the low-budget market sector, dual-core Pentiums for the mid-range market and Core 2 Duo for high end users. This means that Intel has dual-core offerings for all its customers.

The new chip comes to complete the company's broad range of dual-core chips in its Pentium line: the 1.6-GHz Pentium Dual-Core E2140, 1.8-GHz Pentium Dual-Core E2160, 2-GHz Pentium Dual-Core E2180 and the 2.2-GHz Pentium Dual-Core E2200.

The dual-core Celeron is built using Intel's less reliable 65-nanometer technology, which means that the chip won't be as energy-efficient as the new 45-nanometer processors, so you'd better ready the big cooling guns to keep the CPU afloat.

Although the new offering from Intel is not the latest innovation when it comes to processors, it might come in handy for those who run office and multimedia applications. Moreover, if you plan to buy some 1,000 units, you can get it for a $53 price tag. The dual-core Celeron is cheaper than the Pentium dual-core offerings, that sell from $64 to $84, in 1,000 unit quantities.

Not exactly the most impressive of processors, but nothing to sneeze at either, especially considering its $53 price tag -- in quantities of 1,000 units, that is. No word on any other dual-core additions to the line, but given Intel's track record of processor offerings, we'd expect this to be only a taste of things to come.

The dual-core E1200 is the first release of its kind, and is meant to bring the lowest of Intel's chips a few positions forward. There are more dual-core Celeron offerings to come in the near future, and rumor has it that the chip manufacturer is currently cooking a brand-new Celeron 1400, rumored to run at 2000Mhz.