Intel quad-cores expected to arrive on 13 November

Intel is expected to introduce its first quad-core processors on 13 November. According to an invitation sent to media, Hewlett-Packard and Intel will be hosting a "Quad Fest" that day to share news about "workstation technology solutions including the business behind quad-core technology."

Media representatives who are attending the event will be able to publish official information about the quad-cores at 12 PM pacific time, while everyone else is held back until 9 PM pacific time.

It is unclear at this time whether Intel will launch bot quad-core processors - the workstation version Clovertown (Xeon DP 5300), which is based on two Woodcrest (Xeon DP 5100) cores and Kentsfield (Core 2 Extreme QX6700), which integrates two Conroe (Core 2 Duo) cores.

According to industry sources, the quad-core Clovertown CPUs will be available with clock speeds of 1.6 GHz (E5310), 1.86 GHz (E5320), 2.33 GHz (E5345) and 2.66 GHz (X5355). The chips are rated at a thermal design power of 80 watts ; the high-end X5355 makes an exception at 120 watts. The 5320 and 5310 models will run on FSB1066, while the E5345 and X5355 will support FSB1333.

Kentsfield will ship in only one version and very limited numbers. The QX6700 will be clocked at 2.67 GHz.