While I doubt the two extra cores will come into play for quite some time, it’s not stopping Intel from officially launching its new Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 today. The Q6600 is not Intel’s very first quad-core processor, the Core 2 Extreme QX6700 is. But, it is the first non-server, non-enthusiast quad-core processor.

Specifications:

• 65nm
• 8M L2 Cache
• 2.4GHz
• 1066MHz FSB

The Q6600 is expected to cost around $850 if bought now. Pretty steep, unless bragging rights are what you seek.

Together with Q6600, Intel also introduced two new quad-core server processors, Xeon 3220 (2.4GHz) and Xeon X3210 (2.13GHz). Both have the same 8M L2 Cache and 1066MHz FSB as the Q6600.

The highly anticipated Mac Pro is finally announced during WWDC, with the main highlight being the quad Xeon 64-bit processors.

“Apple has successfully completed the transition to using Intel processors in just seven months—210 days to be exact,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “And what better product to complete it with than the new Mac Pro, the workstation Mac users have been dreaming about.”

Indeed, for the Mac fanatics, the desktop seems to be the best thing that money could buy.

• 2 x Dual-Core Intel Xeon “Woodcrest” processors up to 3GHz.
• Up to 4 hard drives for up to 2-terabytes of storage.
• 8 x DIMM slots for up to 16GB of memory.
• 4 x PCI Express slots (3 full-length, 1 double-wide)
• 2 x optical drives
• 2 x FireWire 800 port
• 2 x FireWire 400 port
• 2 x Gigabit Ethernet ports

Like any desktops these days, the Mac Pro is very configurable. But the default specification that comes with a price tag of $2,499 is as follows:

• 2 x 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors
• 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 fully-buffered ECC memory
• NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT with 256MB of GDDR2 SDRAM
• 250GB Serial ATA (3Gb/s) hard drive running at 7200 rpm
• 16x SuperDrive™ with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• Ships with Mighty Mouse and Apple Keyboard

There are many options available for configuration, such as changing the graphics card to an ATI Radeon X1900 XT or a Quadro FX 4500. Check out The Apple Store for options and pricings.