Intel is expected to officially release the first "Sandy Bridge" laptops at the Consumer Electronics Show next month and according to reports, these will be powerd by quad-core CPUs. According to a CNET report, Intel recently disclosed that the first Sandy Bridge processors will be quad core, followed by more mainstream dual-core chips. Top laptop vendors, including Lenovo and Acer, are expected to introduce systems at that time, the report said.

"Quad-core goes live in January, dual-core goes live in February," said an industry source involved in the Sandy Bridge laptop rollout. "OEMs are going to be going public with their quad-core laptops, but they can't go public with their dual-core laptops until mid-February."

Most of the quad-core systems will be 15-inch and 17-inch designs, according to the report.