Intel Corp., the world’s largest maker of microprocessors for computers, has announced that a new version of the Pentium D processor will feature 35W lower power consumption of the top-of-the-range Pentium D 960 processor, allowing the chip to work in much more affordable systems.

In a document sent to partners, Intel said that starting from September 11, 2006, it would ship Intel Pentium D processors models 960, 950, 945, 925 and 915 with D-0 core stepping, which, Intel said, means that the product identification string (CPUID) will change to F65 (requiring BIOS update) and Intel Pentium D 960 chip’s thermal design power (TDP) will be reduced from 130W to 95W.

When Intel Pentium D chips were introduced in late 2005, they all had TDP at 130W, meaning that the microprocessors could only be installed into systems with high-performance power supply unit as well as appropriate mainboard. But recently the company said that the power consumption of the Pentium D chips – except the top-of-the-line one – will be lowered to 95W.

Intel plans to release its Core 2 Duo processors with lower power consumption and higher computing power compared to the presently available Pentium D chips in July, 2006. Nevertheless, the company has plans to lower pricing of the Pentium chips shortly, which should spur the demand for the chip across the world. But low prices on central processing units may not be enough for system integrators to adopt the chip, as expensive processor power supply circuitries on mainboards, necessary for supporting power hungry chips, make them more expensive. With Intel Pentium D chips consuming only 95W, mainboards for the chips will become more affordable.