Intel announced that it would launch its next-generation micro-architecture chips with the Core i7 processor (Nehalem), on November the 17th in San Francisco, at a media and analyst event. Nehalem is also known as “the fastest processor on the planet” and it will feature three different quad-core models: the 2.66 GHz Core i7 920, the 2.93 GHz Core i7 940 and 3.2 GHz 965. The 940 costs $562, the 920, $284 and the Extreme Edition, 965, $999, but these prices should be at least 10-15% higher because of the retailer.

Intel Corporation is the world's largest semiconductor company and the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most personal computers. Founded on July 18, 1968 as Integrated Electronics Corporation and based in Santa Clara, California, Intel also makes motherboard chipsets, network cards and ICs, flash memory, graphic chips, embedded processors, and other devices related to communications and computing. Founded by semiconductor pioneers Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, and widely associated with the executive leadership and vision of Andrew Grove, Intel combines advanced chip design capability with a leading-edge manufacturing capability.

The Nehalem chips are an upgrade from Intel’s Core 2 chips, which are currently used in laptops and desktops. The core micro-architecture will improve the system’s speed and performance-per-watt and they should be released for consumer desktops and laptops in 2009. The chips, with two to eight cores, will include QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) technology, which will help the Central Processing Unit (CPU) to communicate better with system components. In addition, Intel will integrate graphics capabilities in Nehalem CPUs, which could stop the need for an external graphics card and bring more power efficiency to desktops and laptops. The Nehalem chips are manufactured using the 45-nanometer process.