News has emerged that Intel is to refresh their Core 2 Duo desktop line next year, releasing new Conroes clocked at 2.33GHz, 2.66GHz, 2.93GHz and 3GHz. These are named the E6650, E6750, E6800 and E6850 respectively, and all contain 4MB of shared L2 cache. The E6800 runs on a 1,066MHz FSB whilst the others run at the 1,333MHz bus speed.
The company also plans to ship their quad-core Core 2 Quad processor line next year. By Q1 2007, they will have released the 2.4GHz Q6600.
These announcements come at a time where Intel's profits are tumbling. On Tuesday, the company confirmed that third-quarter earnings fell 35 percent and revenue dropped 12 percent. Despite this, Intel remains optimistic, claiming that they still beat lowered estimates.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said it earned $1.3 billion, or 22 cents a share, up from $2 billion, or 32 cents a share, a year earlier. The most recent result beat estimates by 5 cents a share. Sales totalled $8.74 billion.
Chief Financial Officer Andy Bryant claims that the company "has the worst behind them" and that despite Intel's market share sinking to its lowest point in more than four years, the future remains bright for the chipmaker.