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Intel’s forthcoming "Gulftown" 32nm, six-core processor will be known as the Core i7-980X and could be a part of new Mac Pro systems from Apple in early 2010.
Contrary to earlier reports, the new processors will not adopt the Core i9 name, and will allegedly keep the Core i7 title, according to leaked information relayed by Hardmac, the English-language version of French Apple site MacBidouille. The new processor, code-named "Gulftown" will fall under the i7 "Extreme Edition" category, the first of which will be the i7-980X.
The alleged roadmap from Intel shows that the processor will clock in at 3.33GHz. That chip is expected to arrive in March 2010, but in the past, Apple has reached exclusive agreements with Intel to be the first to carry its new processors.
Previous reports have suggested Apple is testing the new Xeon chip, based on the Gulftown architecture, in its Mac Pro desktop. The new, upgraded processor features more horsepower and lower power consumption, and will be the first dual-socket, six-core processor for Intel.
The new 32 nanometer chips have 12MB of L3 cache, and six cores with 12 threads for each CPU. Apple usually doubles the processors in its high-end professional workstations, so it’s possible the new Mac Pro system could have a total of 12 cores and 24 threads. The new hardware could be released sometime in the first quarter of 2010.

The last major refresh to the Mac Pro equipped it with its Nehalem Xeon processors, with a high-end eight-core Mac Pro offering two 2.26GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5500 chips. Earlier this month, Apple quietly upgraded that to a potential maximum 2.93GHz eight-core system.

Source: Apple Insider

Santa Clara, CA – Despite announcing last week that it is to cease production of its Rosedale 2 WiMax chip, Intel is investing $43 million in Japanese WiMax provider UQ Communications.

UQ Communications will use the funding to continue the nationwide expansion of its WiMax service in Japan, making a commitment to cover 90 percent of the country by 2012. The company recently launched a trial service in Tokyo’s 23 wards, Yokohama and Kawasaki, and the Tokyo International Airport. It will formally launch the service on July 1.

“Intel Capital’s investment in UQ Communications is one of our most significant commitments in developing the WiMax ecosystem around the globe,” said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president. “UQ’s WiMax deployment in Japan is a spectacular example of technology innovation being put to work.”

Intel has been one of the world’s largest evangelists of WiMax, making a series of capital investments worldwide to promote the technology. However, on Friday, the company unexpectedly announced that it is to halt production of its Rosedale 2 WiMax chip, citing the global economic slowdown. However, it has assured users that it is not giving up on WiMax, and will focus on more recent chips instead.

Source: TG Daily

There are only a select few events in the PC hardware world that get hardcore enthusiasts truly excited. For example, when popular trade shows like Computex, IDF, and CES take place, there is a fair amount of buzz. Also, anytime the major players in graphics release next-generation GPUs, things definitely heat up; or likewise when a hot new game hits. Finally, when either of the processor big guns, Intel or AMD unleash new CPU micro-architectures on the world, you can almost bet on the community to come alive with enthusiasm. We’re sure we’ve missed a few other momentous occasions as well, but you get the gist. It takes something new and exciting to get a PC Enthusiast’s pulse racing.

Thankfully, today is one of those times. Although Intel won’t be officially launching their Core i7 processors, formerly codenamed Nehalem, and the X58 Express chipset until sometime later in the month, we’ve had them in house for a while now and can finally show you all the goods. We’ve tested every Core i7 speed grade that will be available at launch, along with at trio of X58 Express based motherboards. We’ve even thrown in some high-resolution multi-GPU SLI and CrossFireX testing for good measure as well.

When the new Core i7 processors arrive sometime later this month, pricing for the flagship Core 2 Extreme 965 will be set at $999, the Core i7 940 at $562, and the Core i7 920 at $284. Expect enthusiast-class X58 based motherboards to sell for around $300 give or take a few dollars depending on the number of features. Ultimately, we can’t help but be impressed by the new Core i7 processors. The performance, power profile, and overclockability are all very good even at this early stage. Intel clearly has another exceptionally strong product in their line-up that will undoubtedly appeal to PC enthusiasts and multimedia professionals alike.

Intel has updated its plans with the desktop CPU lineup across segments with some of the current products getting discontinued from manufacturing. The company will send product discontinuance notices (PDNs), documents sent to relevant firms in the industry, notifying them of a time-frame in which the company plans to stop production of a product. Some products are also slated to reach end of life (EOL). Along with this, there are also plans to bring in new products based on the current architecture.

Sources at motherboard vendors tell that by Q1 2009, the Core 2 Extreme QX9770 and QX9650 discontinue, with

PDNs being issued. They will be totally phased-out by Q2. The company will also send out PDNs for four quad-core CPUs including the Core 2 Quad Q9450, ten dual-core CPUs including the Core 2 Duo E8300, three Pentium CPUs including the Pentium E2220 and the Celeron E1200 starting in November, and all products will phase out between the first and second quarters next year. Other highlights include:

• On October 19, Core 2 Quad Q8200, Q6600, Core 2 Duo E7300, and Pentium E2220 and E2200 will face price-cuts.
• On the same day, Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 launches, priced at US$133 (in 1000 unit tray quantities).
• On November 30, Intel will launch Core 2 Quad Q8300 (2.50 GHz, 2+2 MB L2 cache, priced at $224), Pentium E5300 (2.60 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, priced at $86) and Celeron E1500 (2.20 GHz, 512 KB L2, priced at $53)
• January 18, 2009 will see the launch of Core 2 Duo E7500 (2.93 GHz, priced at $133 to replace E7400).
• On the same day, Q8200 gets price cuts from $193 to $183,Pentium E5200 from $84 to $76, Pentium E2220 from $84 to $64 and Celeron E1400 from $54 to $43.

Another important bit is that Core i7 series processors and X58 based motherboards would launch officially in November. The CPU lineup is expected to expand in 2009.

Source: DigiTimes