If you have been curious about the lack of Santa Rosa-based platform notebooks recently, part of it might be the upcoming Montevina platform’s fault.  According to this story, with the launch of Montevina, and the updated Intel processors for it, coming in in May, some vendors are planning on by-passing the refresh launched just this January.

There are a TON of CPUs set to be unveiled for Montevina including some that go as low as 10 watts TDP! 

Intel is planning to launch 15 45nm notebook CPUs for its upcoming Centrino platform, Montevina, which is currently scheduled to launch in May this year. Eight of the CPUs will be smaller package size models targeting the small form factor (SFF) market, according to sources at notebook makers.

Intel will launch seven CPUs with a typical package size of 35mm squared for notebooks. The CPUs include: Core 2 Extreme QX9300 with 12MB L2 cache and TDP of 45W, (the core frequency of this model has not yet been set), Core 2 Extreme X9100 with a core frequency of 3.06GHz, 6MB L2 cache and TDP of 44W, Core 2 Duo T9600 (2.8GHz, 6MB and 35W), T9400 (2.53GHz, 6MB and 35W), P9500 (2.53GHz, 6MB and 25W), P8600 (2.4GHz, 3MB and 25W), and P8400 (2.26GHz, 3MB and 25W), noted the sources. All the CPUs will support a 1066MHz FSB.

The company will also launch eight CPUs with a package size of 22mm squared. These will include: SP9400 with a core frequency of 2.4GHz, 6MB L2 cache and TDP of 25W, SP9300 (2.26GHz, 6MB and 25W), SL9400 (1.86GHz, 6MB and 17W), SL9300 (1.6GHz, 6MB and 17W), SU9400 (1.4GHz, 3MB and 10W), SU9300 (1.2GHz, 3MB and 10W), U3300 (1.2GHz, 3MB and 5.5W), and Celeron 723 (1.2GHz, 1MB and 10W). The CPUs with a TDP less or equal to 10W will support FSB speeds up to 800MHz while the rest will support up to 1066MHz.

With Intel having only recently launched its Santa Rosa Refresh platform-based notebook CPUs on January 6, the planned launch of Montevina in May has lead notebook makers to be cautious over their purchasing of Santa Rosa Refresh CPUs to prevent overstock during the platform transition, added the sources.

Intel declined to comment on unannounced products and could only reveal is that the launch of Montevina is currently scheduled for the first half of 2008.