Word is spreading that some Taiwanese notebook manufacturers are itching to get their hands on Intel's Conroe-based Core 2 Duo desktop processors. Instead of waiting until August when Merom-based processors are officially going to be released, these manufacturers are looking to Conroe to fill the gap.

Going with the pin-compatible desktop-based Conroe not only makes available faster SKUs, but it also comes at a very nice discount compared to Merom. Digitimes reports:

The shift will allow notebook makers to enjoy a price difference of over US$50, and is workable since Conroe and Merom are both designed to be lower powered CPUs, with Conroe coming with a thermal design power (TDP) of 65W, compared with Merom's 35W, the sources indicated. In addition, when paired with the Intel 965 chipsets, the Conroe-based notebooks are likely to reach a level of performance similar to Intel's next generation Santa Rosa platform, which is scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2007, the sources noted.

People looking for low-power desktops and SFF’s have been looking to Intel’s mobile processors for quite some time now. It’s only natural that notebook manufacturers would go in the opposite direction and look for a way to save a few bucks and increase performance at the same time.

Several notebook manufactures, including ECS and ASUS, have confirmed this expectation for designing a few notebook models with Conroe CPUs, so don't be surprised if we see a few models within the next few months.