San Francisco (CA) - In a recent article, we reported that Intel is pushing the power envelope with its desktop dual-core processors to a new record level of 130 watts, raising concerns of additional cost for users to control heat and acoustics levels of a mainstream PC. As we learned at IDF, Intel's chip development will be turning the corner: The company intends to dramatically decrease power consumption to less than half of the the upcoming Pentium Extreme Edition 840.

Power consumption is certainly a topic that has caught Intel's attention and company representatives of the manufacturer confirmed at IDF, that power levels will decrease again over time.

In the long-term, mainstream desktop processors are targeted at a power envelope of 60 watts, down from a staggering maximum consumption 130 watts of the new Pentium Extreme Edition 840, according to Benson Inkley, a senior procesor applications engineer, with Intel.

The company also updated power consumption for Pentium D (Smithfield). "There will be processors at a level of 90 to 95 watts," Inkley said. The clock speeds of such processors were not specified.

Intel engineers also pointed out that 60 watts would be "on the horizon" and they could not say which products will achieve this power level in which timeframe. Inkley indicated that the Extreme Edition's power consumption would be at the high end of what desktop processors will consume in the near future but said that ultimately consumers will decide which performance they want and what power levels they are willing to accept.