Intel Core i7 Architecture on The Mainstream Desktop: Leaked

[sheeza]

Intel plans to launch its Core i7 architecture on the mainstream desktop this fall with three processors, a leaked roadmap shows when combined with earlier leaks. The 3.2GHz Core i7 Extreme 965 will ship in the fall as the chipmaker's gaming-oriented quad-core processor and should be accompanied by regular 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz versions (Core i7 920 and 940) at the same time.

The update appears to confirm previous rumors from before Intel had given the Core i7 name to its "Nehalem" architecture and would represent a larger launch than Intel has typically used in the past; previous changes have often focused solely on Extreme-level processors and followed up with normal processors sometime afterwards.

An early 2009 update should also result in some upgrades to budget chips using the older Core 2 architecture on a 45 nanometer process, with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Quad Q8300 replacing the 2.33GHz Q8200 at the same time as appearances for the the largely unknown Core 2 Duo E7500, Pentium dual-core E5300 and Celeron E1500.

The fall upgrades also provide a likely indication of Intel's expected Xeon upgrades at the same time, which regularly share similar or better clock speeds as well as other improvements.