It is no secret that the Core2Duo PC systems can run Mac OSX without any major issues. Apple already has announced plans to use Intel's Quad Core series in order to deliver even faster performance under OSX, pleasing Apple fans. Everything runs x2, according to Apple for Core2Duo processors:

or...?

After having checked how much faster an Intel Quad Core is with Windows XP SP2, we wanted to get a taste of the experience running an Intel Quad Core with Mac OSX 10.4.8. For all tests, we used the following PC setup:

• Mac OSX 10.4.8 with all latest updates installed
• Intel XE6800 & QX6700
• Motherboard: Intel DX975XBX2 BIOS A2330
• Memory: 2x1GB Crucial PC2-8000 @ 800MHz CPU:RAM Ratio (CL4-4-4-8 2.1V )
• VGA: Asus X1600XT Silent
• HDD: WD 80GB SATA (primary)

Note, that for all tests, we used two processors. The Intel XE6800 and Intel QX6700. Both processors come with unlocked multiplier, which means we can "emulate" the performance of the missing processors (aka E6600, E6700, QX6600 and QX6800). MAC OSX 10.4.8 doesn't have any problem recognizing the four cores of the QX6700: