Intel's Nehalem Desktop Chips to Be Called Core I7

The high-end desktop versions of Intel's Nehalem processor family will carry the Core i7 moniker when they are released later this year.

Nehalem, which Intel executives will detail at the upcoming Intel Developer Forum conference in San Francisco, includes multiple processor cores as well as an integrated memory controller hub to improve performance -- a feature that is currently only available on x86 processors from rival Advanced Micro Devices.

The Nehalem chips will be manufactured using Intel's 45-nanometer manufacturing process.

Intel's current processor family is called Core 2, an apparent reference to both the use of multiple cores on these chips and the company's current microarchitecture, which is called Core. The Nehalem family will also use the Core brand, but Intel will drop the numeral two when referring to these chips.

Within the Nehalem family, chips designed for different types of computers will have individual sub-brands, such as the i7 brand that will be attached to the high-end desktop chips, called Core i7, said Ruby Au, a company spokeswoman in Hong Kong.

Other names will be used for Core processors intended for other types of computers, she said.

Nehalem is set to be the principal focus of IDF, much as Centrino Atom was the focus at IDF in Shanghai during April. But senior company executives slated to speak at IDF will also discuss other products, including system-on-chips designed for entertainment devices and an upcoming quad-core mobile processor, Au said.

The quad-core mobile processor was scheduled to be released this month, but Au said the chip is not likely to be released during IDF. "We are just planning to share some additional information about the chip," she said.