New CPUs And Price Cuts Expected By Intel

Details have emerged over future launch dates and expected price changes for Intel processors over the coming months.

According to Digitimes, details regarding Intel’s desktop processor roadmap for the upcoming months have been disclosed by sources at motherboard manufacturers. Along with plenty of expected price cuts in the months ahead, several new product introductions and discontinuations are also expected.

The first change to be expected will come on October 19, with the launch of the Core 2 Duo E7400. Price cuts are also expected on that day for the Core 2 Quad Q8200, Quad Q6600, Duo E7300, and Pentium E2220 and E2200 processors. The expected pricing for these processors was not mentioned.

Sometime during November it is expected Intel will release its next-generation of processors under the branding Core i7. There are only three Core i7 processors expected in 2008 and they will target upper mainstream and performance users. The Core i7 965 XE will be an Extreme Edition processor running at 3.20 GHz, featuring an 8 MB cache and will be priced at $999. The Core i7 940 will run at 2.93 GHz, feature an 8 MB cache and cost $562. The most affordable Core i7 will be the 920, with a 2.66 GHz clock-speed, an 8 MB cache and a $284 price-tag. All three processors feature four-cores, a 130 W TDP and will offer a substantial performance increase over current Core 2 processors.

The next change on Intel’s roadmap comes on November 30, with the introduction of three new processors. The Core 2 Quad Q8300 will launch at a price of $224 and will offer a clock-speed of 2.5 GHz with a 4 MB cache. Also then available will be the Pentium E5300, offering good value at $86, featuring a 2.6 GHz clock-speed with a 2 MB cache. Lastly, the Celeron E1500 will be released with a 2.2 GHz clock-speed and will be priced at $53.

Early next year on January 18, Intel will introduce the Core 2 Duo E7500 processor, which will have a clock-speed of 2.93 GHz and be priced at $133. Intel will also continue to slash prices on its Core 2, Pentium and Celeron brands. The Core 2 Quad Q8200 will see a small drop from $193 to $183, the Core 2 Duo E7400 will drop to $113 from $133, the Pentium E5200 will drop from $84 to $76, the Pentium E2220 will drop from $84 to $64 and the Celeron E1400 will drop from $53 to $43.

Also according to the information provided by Digitimes, Intel is expected to begin discontinuing many of its Core 2, Pentium and Celeron processors by the second quarter of 2009.