The world’s largest maker of x86 processors Intel Corp. reportedly plans to introduce a new version of its 65nm Intel Pentium 4 processors code-named Cedar Mill that will have power consumption inline with the company’s next-generation desktop chips known as Conroe. Low power consumption means that mainboards and cooling systems do not have to be very advanced, thus, will get less expensive.

Following the recent power consumption reduction of certain Intel Pentium D 900-series processors to 95W, Intel Corp. is gearing up to introduce Intel Pentium 4 processors 6x1-series with thermal design power (TDP) slashed to 65W, a figure that Intel’s performance-mainstream processors have not seen for years, according to Taiwan-based mainboard makers cited by HKEPC web-site.

 The reductions in power consumption of both single-core and dual-core designs is attributed to improvements of Intel’s 65nm production technology in general and in decreases of power leakages in particular.

Intel Corp. first saw thermals of its chips increasing 80W in early 2004 when it introduced its Intel Pentium 4 processors with 1MB L2 cache (known under Prescott code-name) as a result if increased power leakages within its 90nm process technology. Later on the company raised the TDP bar of performance single-core chips with its Intel Pentium 4 600-series chips with 2MB cache – also produced using 90nm fabrication process – to 115W, an unprecedented value. However, the new 65nm production tech may allow Intel to trim power consumption of its desktop Pentium 4 600-series chips quite significantly.

It is currently unclear whether all of the chips of the Intel Pentium 4 6x1-series processors will have TDP of 65W, but it is known that the highest-performing 3.80GHz desktop single-core chip of Intel is still produced using 90nm process technology.

Intel Corp. did not comment on the news-story.