Intel's upcoming next-generation architecture processors 'Conroe' and 'Merom' will be branded 'Core 2 Duo', online reports allege. The gamer-friendly version of Conroe will ship as the 'Core 2 Extreme'.

The claim, made by Reuters yesterday, was not confirmed with official comment, but the presence of chip logos in other reports suggests the story is accurate and probably represents an officially sanctioned leak.

Whatever, the go-to-market brand rounds off the Conroe naming scheme. Earlier this year, it emerged the chip would follow the numbering system Intel put in place for the original Core processor line.

So, Conroes will appear as 4000 and 6000 series parts - respectively, for the single and dual-core versions of the part. The number will be prefixed by an 'E' to signify a power consumption of 50W or higher.

The mobile Merom chips will ship as the 5000 and 7000 series. Again, the lesser numerical range represents single-core parts, and the chips will be prefixed with U, L or T, depending on their power consumption: T for 25-49W, L for 15-24W and U for under 14W. Typically, U-class chips as Ultra-low Voltage parts, while the Ls are Low-voltage chips.

Conroe will ship in July, Intel said last month, followed by Merom in August. ®