Intel has an ambitious processor road map that depends heavily on 45-nanometer design rules, a sweet spot where the chip giant hopes to expand beyond its comfort zone. "We have 15 processor products in development," said president and CEO Paul Otellini at a meeting of financial analysts last week. Otellini attributed this abundance to the "magic of 45 nm," where "for the first time we have a technology that gives us the capability to provide a tremendous range of offerings on the performance/ power axis."

Intel's architectural road map addresses the usual notebook, desktop and server markets. When it introduces a new microarchitecture this year, called Penryn, it will follow with a compacted derivative in 2008 that will be code-named Hehalem. Both will be built in 45-nm process technology. By 2009, Intel plans to move to the 32-nm node with Westmere, then its derivative Sandy Bridge in 2010.

Intel says this "ticktock" strategy will allow it to continue to increase its output, helping to optimize average selling prices.

But since desktops and, by extension, the current generation of notebooks offer only small margins, Intel will need to look elsewhere to grow new markets. Otellini claimed that new architectures called Larebee and Silverthorne will be the new kids on the microprocessor block. With their deployment, the company will be able to enter new markets at the high and low ends of the Intel architectural spectrum.

Larebee addresses visual computing and high-performance computing, while Silverthorne is optimized for low-cost and low-power applications. And here's where it becomes interesting: Intel will aim the Silverthorne at systems-on-chip designs and tailor it for individual customers in three new markets: consumer electronics Internet-ready devices, mobile Internet-ready devices and ultralow-cost PCs.

Intel forecasts that the three categories will have a total available market for silicon of close to $30 billion, with potential sales of more than 900 million chip units by 2011. "What Banias [Wi-Fi ready] did for the growth in notebooks, Silverthorne and 3G WiMax will do for the mobile Internet explosion," said Otellini.

That's mighty ambitious. And it's mighty risky.

To hedge its bets, Intel will continue to make processors for notebook PCs. But in addition to the United States, it will market them to the 1 billion-strong middle class that the company predicts will emerge in these regions of the world: Asia Pacific, Latin America, China, Central/East Europe, Russia/CIS, the Middle East and Africa.

Let's hope Intel's ambitious ticktock strategy is successful, so it won't need a rewind with every new consumer fad.