Less than two years after the introduction of the world’s first dual-core x86 processors, Intel Corp. will release its quad-core microprocessor for servers. The new chips will feature the new micro-architecture which is expected to be described at Intel’s developer forum (IDF) this spring.

Intel on Friday said it would release its chip code-named Clovertown in early 2007 and will start revenue shipments as early as late this year. It is unclear whether Clovertown chips will consist of a single die, or will utilize a number of separate cores mounted on a single piece of substrate, but it is known that the chip will be made using 65nm fabrication process.

“We are well along in the validation process of this new design and it has been showing such robust performance we decided that it was to let people see it,” said Justin Rattner, Intel’s chief executive officer.

Mr. Rattner showcased the first working samples of Clovertown product in a server designed for two physical processors. The new server platform will have two sockets, but will be able to demonstrate performance levels similar to today’s high-end 8-way machines while also consuming less power.

Intel’s chief technology officer also said that while increasing the number of execution cores within processors is a priority for the chip giant these days, the company will also attempt to teach software designers how to take advantage of multi-core processors.

Mr. Rattner also predicted that in a decade microprocessors will feature tens or hundreds of execution engines.