Intel has announced an update to its 32nm next-generation processor plans, revealing that it is accelerating the process shrink by skipping some CPUs that were going to arrive later this year, and said it will spend $7 billion to build "advanced manufacturing facilities" in the United States over the next couple of years. Specifically, the company scrapped plans for 45nm dual-core Nehalem variants for desktops and notebooks to increase production of 32nm desktop and notebook chips.
The first Intel processors to be built using 32nm technology are codenamed Westmere and will be a die-shrink of the current Nehalem architecture, but the smaller process technology will also free up room on the package to integrate a 45nm graphics and memory controller on a separate die. The initial chips will target mainstream mobile and desktop systems, and were demonstrated by Intel at an event in San Francisco today.
The chipmaker also said that its 32nm process will be split into two versions, one optimized for mainstream chips and one for system-on-a-chip (SoC) processors aimed at netbooks and other mobile devices. All of this, however, will be preceded by 45nm quad-core Nehalem parts codenamed Lynnfield and Clarksfield that target mainstream desktop and laptops respectively. You can read more about the updated roadmap here.