Intel is on the verge of dramatically swelling the ranks of its CULV (Consumer Ultra Low-Voltage) processor ranks if a leak of early information proves true. The chip producer is seen by Fudzilla as shipping seven processors in early October that would significantly expand the range. Two low-end models, the SU2500 and SU2600, should be joined by the mid-range SU4100, SU4500 and SU4700 as well as the high-end SU7300 and SU7800.
Most specifications are vague, though the SU2000-series updates should have faster clock speeds than the 1.2GHz SU2300 with 1MB of Level 2 cache. The SU4100 is clocked at 1.3GHz with 2MB of cache, and the SU7300 is expected to run at 1.3GHz with an unspecified but likely larger amount of cache.
All of the processors have a listed $289 bulk price, but it's unofficially expected that at least some of the processors will cost less and that the existing prices may be placeholders. Acer and ASUS are the first candidates to use the CULV chips, but they aren't thought to have exclusive rights.
The CULV category covers a number of low-power Celeron, Pentium and Core 2 processors that are all aimed at making ultraportable systems faster than netbooks but without much added cost, as systems like the Dell Inspiron 11z often cost little more than an average netbook. A major expansion suggests Intel is both hoping to replace netbooks with more profitable CULV systems as well as to appease holdouts such as Apple, which have complained that netbooks are too slow for many users.
Source: electronista