Intel's dual-core Pentium Extreme Edition will gain support for the chip maker's 1066MHz frontside bus when it enters the 65nm era, if a company roadmap slide leaked onto the Web is to be believed.
The chip, apparently dubbed the Extreme Edition 955, is based on 'Presler, the upcoming 65nm dual-core Pentium D part. Like the standard desktop chip, the 955 will contain 2MB of L2 cache per core, and incorporate Intel's Virtualisation Technology, according to the slide, which was
posted on Chinese-language site HKEPC.
Unlike the mainstream dualie, the gaming-oriented 955 will have HyperThreading enabled, allowing it to process up to four threads simultaneously.
According to the slide, the 955 will be clocked to 3.46GHz, which is not an integer multiple of the alleged 1066MHz bus speed.
The 955 will require a new chipset, the follow-up to today's 955X. Dubbed the 975X, it will be based on 'Broadwater', the upcoming successor to the 945 chipset series. The 975X will retroactively support today's Extreme Edition 840 part.
The slide doesn't mention a release timeframe, but Presler is due Q1 2006, alongside or after the market debut of Intel's home entertainment PC platform, Viiv.
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