IDF Intel's gaming-oriented four-core Core 2 Extreme QX6800 was expected to appear in Q3 but launched last week. So what will happen in Q3? The chip giant will release a faster version, the QX6850, according to motherboard-maker moles.

That, at least, is what they've told Chinese-language site HKEPC. They claim the QX6850 will run at 3GHz over a 1,333MHz frontside bus. Again, the chip's produced by combining two dual-core dies, each with 4MB of shared L2 cache, in a single package.

The chip's model number matches that of the 1.333MHz FSB 3GHz Core 2 Duo, the E6850, also due in Q3. The third quarter is also expected to see the arrival of the next Core 2 Quad, the Q6700, clocked at 2.66GHz.

The sources suggested Intel brought the QX6800's launch forward and introduced the QX6850 the better to compete with the upcoming 'star' versions of AMD's rival gaming-centric CPU, the Athlon 64 FX.