IDF: Intel unveils Nehalem processor plans

Intel's Nehalem will include a new turbo mode designed to shift the processor up a gear

Intel has detailed a range of new and upcoming processors at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco.

First up is the announcement that Nehalem, the company's next-generation processor family, will include a new turbo mode designed to shift the processor up a gear without incurring a heat penalty.

It does this by switching off unused cores in the processor and then boosting the speed of the cores in operation.

First to hit the shelves will be the new Core i7 CPUs for the desktop and the Nehalem-EPs for servers.

Next year, Intel is expected to launch the Nehalem-EX for the expandable server market, as well as several new products for the desktop and mobile arenas.

"Our engineers have put together an incredible processing family that will include a tremendous amount of new features all centred on delivering faster computer performance and terrific energy efficiency," said Intel's Pat Gelsinger during one of the keynote speeches.

The chip giant also revealed an expansion of its Xeon processor range with the upcoming X7460, boasting six cores and a 16MB L3 cache, which is due out next month.

Dadi Perlmutter, Intel's executive vice president and general manager of the Mobility Group, unveiled the Intel Core 2 Extreme processor, a mobile-focused quad-core system which draws only 45W of power.

Perlmutter claimed that this will "redefine how we compute on-the-go by giving users a stunning new computing visual experience, better manageability and security, enhanced turbo mode features and evolutionary power management for notebooks".