Intel's quad-core desktop processors will be branded Core 2 Quadro and Core 2 Extreme, Taiwanese motherboard maker moles have alleged. The chip giant's roadmaps have, in the past, indicated that the first quad-core desktop will be an Extreme-branded part.

What's new is the name of the Extreme part, which is based on 'Kentsfield' - essentially a pair of 'Conroe' dual-core CPUs bonded in a single chip package. According to the throats - cited by DigiTimes - will be dubbed the QX6700. It's a 2.66GHz part and will ship mid-November.

The sources - who will have seen Intel's latest roadmap, it would seem - say the QX6700 will be followed by the 2.4GHz Core 2 Quadro Q6600 in Q1 2007. It operates over a 1066MHz frontside bus and incorporates 8MB of L2 cache, split 50:50 between the two core pairs. ®