Intel Corp. may be preparing another pricing attack on its arch-rival Advanced Micro Devices and is currently projected to start offering its successful Core 2 Duo microprocessors with higher speed processor system bus (PSB) at mainstream price-points right after their announcement in the third quarter.

A news-story over HKEPC web-site claims that Intel is preparing four versions of its desktop processors that use 1333MHz processor bus: the Core 2 Duo models E6850 (3.0GHz, 4MB unified L2 cache), E6750 (2.66GHz, 4MB unified L2 cache), E6550 (2.33GHz, 4MB unified L2 cache) and E6540 (2.33GHz, 4MB unified L2 cache) that will cost $266, $183 and $163 respectively for the higher-end models. The pricing of the model E6540 is not yet announced to the chipmaker’s partners, but its difference from the model E6550 will be in the lack of Trusted Execution Technology, also known under LaGrande code-name.

Even though platforms for the new microprocessors with 1333MHz processor bus support are likely to be pretty expensive, considering the new Bearlake core-logic set, necessity to use DDR3 memory and ability to support PCI Express 2.0 bus, the arrival of powerful new Core 2 Duo chips may catalyze price waterfall on the models unveiled last year, which should increase pressure on AMD in mainstream market segment.

Besides new dual-core processors with higher speed bus, Intel is projected to broaden the lineup of its quad-core chips with the Core 2 Quad Q6700 (2.66GHz, 8MB of cache, 1066MHz PSB) that is claimed to cost $530 and decrease the pricing of the already shipping Core 2 Quad Q6600 to $266.

Intel did not comment on the news-story.