Intel junked its plans for further Pentium 4 designs after the M (Banias) chip, designed in Israel, arrived in the Centrino wireless chipset. Now it's planning to announce future dual-core Pentium chips based on the Banias line of designs. According to CNet:
The new chips will start to emerge in the second half of 2006 and sport, among other attributes, greater energy efficiency and better manageability, according to sources familiar with the company's plans. The chips are code-named Merom (for notebooks), Conroe (for desktops) and Woodcrest (for servers).
Intel CEO Paul Otellini plans to provide details about the new generation of chips on Aug. 23, the first day of the Intel Developer Forum, which will take place in San Francisco.
Merom (named after a lake in Northern Palestine through which the Jordan flows) must be another design from the lab in Israel. Conroe is in the old tradition, being named after Lake Conroe in Oregon, but Woodcrest is a bit of a mystery.
The new chips have been public knowledge since March, at least, and were confirmed by Intel at a financial analyst meeting in May. See: Future Intel Chips Signal Design Shift from IDG News Service, dated May 10.
Merom is the fourth generation of the Israeli series, Banias having been followed by Dothan and Yonah.
