According to Fudzilla, Intel has no plans to release a 32nm quad-core processor next year, and all of the upcoming four-core chips will be based on existing 45nm technology. However, as we've reported previously, the chip-maker does have a high-end six-core chip 32nm chip up its sleeve, which is dubbed Gulftown and will be branded as Core i7 980X. Quad-core chips based on a 32nm fabrication are reportedly more likely to appear beyond 2010.
Meanwhile, Fudzilla can "confirm" that AMD has plans to launch two six-core desktop processors next year – probably in the second quarter. The 45nm six-core CPU, called Thuban, will support DDR3 1333MHz RAM and should be compatible with most existing AM3 motherboards. Unfortunately, the differences between both SKUs is currently unknown, but an adjusted clock frequency seems plausible.