When the internal codename for a new processor is Santa Rosa Refresh, you might think that there wasn’t much new really going on under the hood. But Intel’s latest Core 2 Duo Processor, based on a groundbreaking 45-nanometer manufacturing process and also known as Penryn, is a big deal for several key reasons. For starters, Intel’s HD Boost technology (which can handle what’s called SSE4 instructions) promises better multimedia performance, especially video encoding and editing. This should come in handy as high-definition camcorders come down in price. In fact, Intel promises up to 70 percent higher performance when encoding high-def video and up to a 30 percent speed boost for apps like photo editing, retouching, and publishing. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Just as important, the 45-nanometer Intel Core 2 Duo should provide longer battery life, thanks to Deep Power Down Technology. It’s designed to “reduce the power of the processor when it’s not running data or instructions to the laptop.” With up to 6MB of L2 cache and clock speeds ranging from 2.1 to 2.8 GHz, the new processor should delight the impatient with more throughput and improved performance across the board for single- and multi-threaded applications. We’re also hoping for a zippier overall Vista experience.

The 965 Express chipset isn’t new but when tied with the new CPU and a third-party encoder you should be able to watch Blu-ray or HD DVD movies without the need for discrete graphics. We’re also looking forward to the promised Direct X 10 support coming to the chipset, which has a target availability date of Q1. That will be yet another reason to think twice about splurging for discrete graphics when configuring your notebook. Last but not least is the fact that the 45-nanometer Core 2 Duo is much greener than its predecessors: it’s lead free and will be halogen free by late 2008.

We’ve only had the opportunity to review only one 45-nanometer Core 2 Duo notebook thus far, the HP Pavilion HDX, but we think this CPU should satisfy demanding media hounds who want more muscle without sacrificing endurance. Stay tuned for hands-on impressions of more of these machines throughout the show.