Intel is offering OEMs <A HREF="http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2071124,00.asp?kc=EWEWEMNL121106EP23D">a fifth quad-core processor</A> earlier than expected. The company announced Dec. 11 that it is has started shipping a fifth chip that is part of its Xeon 5300 family of quad-core processors. The company officially introduced its first quad-core offerings on Nov. 14. Intel had planned to introduce this particular processor in February 2007, but increased demand by OEMs led the company to roll the chip out early than expected.