Intel Corp. plans to update its enthusiast-class desktop platform late this year with Sandy Bridge E-series processors. Previously it was believed that the company would introduce them earlier during the year, but instead the company will speed-up the current platform with faster chips and will only bring the brand new platform in the fourth quarter to the market.

A document seen by X-bit labs indicated that Intel intends to introduce its Sandy Bridge E-series microprocessors in LGA2011 form-factor for extreme and premium performance desktop PC segments in Q4 2011. Earlier it was believed that the chip giant would unveil the new central processing units (CPUs) for enthusiasts sometimes in Q3 2011, but it looks like the company decided to postpone the release by several months.

Intel Sandy Bridge E microprocessors are specifically designed for enthusiasts, who demand maximum performance. For example, the chips will carry "extra large cache" to maximize speed of single-threaded or dual-threaded applications, quad-channel memory controller and a number of other enhancements. Sandy Bridge E chips with four or six cores will be paired with code-named Patsburg core-logic set. Platforms based on the latter will feature external base frequency generators  and clock-speeds of buses like SATA or USB locked. As a result, enthusiasts will be able to boost clock-speed of microprocessors using traditional methods by increasing DMI frequencies, something that will allow them to easily and more efficiently to overclock their CPUs.

Thanks to a number of micro-architectural enhancements of Sandy Bridge, the new line of extreme processors promises to be very fast. It remains to be seen whether six-core Intel processors will be able to outperform eight-core chips from Advanced Micro Devices, which are due to be released in Q2 - Q3 2011.

Before launching the new LGA2011 platform for enthusiasts in Q4, Intel plans to speed up the current one with a new Core i7 9-series Extreme Edition microprocessor sometimes in the second or in the third quarters.

Intel did not comment on the news-story.

Tags: Intel, Patsburg, 32nm