Those, who expected to upgrade their extreme-performance systems six-core Intel Core i7-3900-series "Sandy Bridge-E" LGA2011 chips inside with even faster "Ivy Bridge-E" chips later this year will probably have to wait until at least the second half of 2013, as Intel has no plans to launch new generation of enthusiast processors in 2012.

The delay of Intel Corp.'s code-named "Ivy Bridge" microprocessor has apparently caused massive shift in the chipmaker's roadmap. According to what is presumably the latest version of Intel's roadmap, the company will not only postpone the release of the next-generation code-named "Haswell" chip by several months to March - June, 2013, timeframe, but will also not release enthusiast-class "Ivy Bridge-E" central processing unit (CPU) in 2012.

Based on a slide that resembles those from Intel's roadmap, which was published by ComputerBase web-site, the chip giant will not release its six-core or eight-core Ivy Bridge-E chips either this year or in the first half of 2013. Moreover, with the next-generation Haswell launching in late Q1 or Q2 2013, the destiny of the Ivy Bridge-E seems to be somewhat gloomy as the former may challenge the latter in terms of performance.

Given the fact that Intel's enthusiast-class platforms cannot be challenged by its arch-rival Advanced Micro Devices these days, the company may introduce speedier versions of its Extreme Edition microprocessors or may not. The company does have plans to release Core i7-3980X model, but it is unclear whether the novelty will sport boosted clock-speeds or will have two additional cores turned on and will therefore be an eight-core part.

Intel's Ivy Bridge, Ivy Bridge-E and Haswell central processing units are made using Intel's innovative 22nm process technology with tri-gate transistors.