Core 2 Duo processor set to launch Thursday is already making waves.

Dell will launch a series of desktops and workstations powered by the Conroe Core 2 Duo chip, and Gateway will use the chip in its high-end FX510 desktop PC, designed for gamers.

Anticipating a marketplace battle, chip-making rival Advanced Micro Devices slashed prices Monday on some models of its Athlon 64 X2 desktop processors by as much as 57 percent.

AMD also cut prices for its Turion 64 notebook chips to make them more competitive with Intel's "Merom" Core 2 Duo chip, which could also launch this week.

AMD hopes those price cuts will preserve its growing share of the market for desktop PC chips. AMD's market share by units sold has risen from 19.1 percent in the first quarter of 2004 to 20.6 percent in the first quarter of 2005 and 24.7 percent in the first quarter of 2006, according to research firm Gartner Inc.

The rest of the market belongs to Intel, with IBM hovering between 1 percent and 2 percent.