Intel is already sampling 45nm Penryn chips

With the rumours surrounding AMD's imminent release of its first 65 nanometre processors, Intel is reportedly playing the one-upmanship game.

Reuters has received word that the company is already sampling its Penryn family processors that are being manufactured in one of the company's fabs in Oregon.

Intel's Mark Bohr, Director of Process Architecture and Integration, has stated that the chip giant is on track to start selling the chips in the second half of 2007.

Bohr told Reuters that the chip giant is "processing the first samples of the Penryn design. These samples will go back to the design team to determine if design is working as expected."

Penryn is a 45 nanometre shrink of Intel's 65 nanometre Core 2 Duo based Conroe die. Intel has already mapped out its plans to move to new architectures every two years, with upgrades to finer fabrication processes happening in between the architectural progressions.