Chicago (IL) - Intel is apparently set to begin transition the Core 2 Duo E4000 series with the new E700 series, which is based on the 45 nm Wolfdale core. According to reports, the company will launch the E7200 model with a clock speed of 2.53 GHz in Q2 of this year.

The first chip will integrate a 1066 MHZ FSB, up from 800 MHz in the E4000 series, and a 3 MB shared L2 cache, up from 2 MB. The thermal design power remains at 65 watts, HKEPC.com reports. Overall, 45 nm processors will be rare sight on the market, as Intel expects only 5% of its total output to be 45 nm. The share is expected to climb to 20% in Q2 and to 50% in Q3.

Meanwhile, first information about the E8000 series, the successor of the current Core 2 Duo E6000 models, begins to show up. Several media outlets are reporting that the 45 nm dual cores will be shipping in late January, while the Q9000 quad-cores are expected to follow with a few weeks of delay.