The name Pentium 4 isn't going to change to Pentium 8, but Intel Corp. says dual-core versions of both the mainstream Pentium and high-end gaming and workstation Pentium processor Extreme Edition families will appear in the second quarter of this year. The silicon giant says it's completed initial production runs of its dual-core CPUs, which combine two physical processors in one chip -- letting the new Extreme Edition handle as many as four software threads simultaneously, thanks to Intel's Hyper-Threading Technology which uses a processor's otherwise idle resources to simulate a second, logical processor.

Oddly, today's announcement makes only the briefest mention of the mainstream dual-core processor codenamed "Smithfield," and doesn't promise Hyper-Threading for that chip as it does for the dual-core Extreme Edition. The latter will be teamed with a new 955X Express chipset, formerly codenamed "Glenwood," that includes features such as PCI Express, Intel High Definition Audio, and faster dual-channel DDR-2 memory. For its part, "Smithfield" will get two new chipsets dubbed the 945G and 945P Express, both formerly seen on codename charts as "Lakeport."