There have been rumors about Apple possibly offering upgraded versions of its Intel-driven Macs which will come with Intel's forthcoming Conroe (Core 2 Duo CPU).

Back in 2005, Apple announced that it was planning to switch back to using Intel's portable CPUs (the Core Duo and Core Solo). Fortunately for the company, its machines turned out to be faster than its G4- or G5-powered predecessors.

Some or all of the Intel-driven Macs will be upgraded with the even faster Merom (Cor 2 Duo) portable CPUs that will arrive later this year. But it's still unknown as to when exactly Apple will be upgrading its desktop Power Macs with Intel's CPUs, though many people are betting that if the company decides to do this upgrade, the announcement will be made during the 2006 Worldwide Developers Conference which has been rescheduled to take place August 7 to 11.

At the opening of this event where Intel CEO Paul Otellini will be one of the keynote speakers, the expected speech from Intel will include the announcement that Conroe-powered top-end desktops will be available immediately. Details about the arrival of the faster desktop Macs, Conroe Extreme CPU-powered servers and two or more dual-core Intel Woodcrest CPUs will be revealed.