Earlier this year a couple of leaked roadmaps suggested that Intel would begin production of a dual-core Atom processor, but it wasn't until today that the company actually confirmed the new chip's existence. Due out in September, the first dual-core Atom implementation will be targeted at desktops and come attached to Intel's new D945GCLF2 motherboard based around the 945GC Express Chipset.

Like its Atom 230 sibling, the Atom 330 is based on Intel's 45nm fab process and will presumably incorporate HyperThreading technology to appear to the OS as four separate cores. Intel didn't say what clock speed the chip is set to, though earlier reports suggested it would run at the same 1.6GHz as the Atom N270 used in current netbooks. It's also expected to have 1MB of Level 2 cache (512KB for each core) and a TDP of just 8W.

As for Intel's new D945GCLF2 motherboard, it is expected to fit into any mini-ITX case and include GMA 950 integrated graphics as well as support for up to 2GB of memory in a single slot, gigabit Ethernet, and equal pairs of Parallel and Serial ATA connections for storage. There are no details on a mobile version of the processor yet, although it is expected that Intel will release such a chip given its low-power consumption.