The Top Unsung Tech-Stock Leaders

Much of the strength of the Nasdaq can be laid to the surges at Apple, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion(RIMM Quote), Internet retailer Amazon.com(AMZN Quote) and alternative-energy providers First Solar(FSLR Quote) and SunPower(SPWR Quote), which have seen shares rise 50% to 200% this year.

But there are a whole bunch of unsung heroes in the Nasdaq that deserve your attention as well, as they could provide a lot more fireworks this summer and into the rest of the year.

The semiconductor sector should be right at the top of your list, headed by the newly invincible Intel(INTC Quote). Skeptics and rivals have tried to kick this company down the stairs, but it keeps coming back. It's already up 24% this year and could easily advance another 30%-plus if its valuation were to catch up with its undeniable earnings growth.

The key driver for Intel, I believe, will be a surprisingly fast ramp-up in the second half of the year to support Microsoft's(MSFT Quote) much-maligned Windows Vista operating system.

A Cowen & Co. study found that two-thirds of large businesses and three-quarters of small businesses plan to make the switch to Vista over the next 12 months after Microsoft publishes its first Service Pack, a collection of patches and enhancements that fix a bunch of bugs found in the software's initial release. Most plan to implement Vista via new computers, not by upgrading existing machines -- leading to a surge in demand for the Intel chips that serve as their brains.

Cost Savings Inside

Intel is very well positioned for this change in the demand cycle, as its larger and more advanced factories will give it a leg up on arch-enemy Advanced Micro Devices(AMD Quote). Intel operates four microprocessor foundries, or "fabs," in the U.S. and Ireland. Two new fabs are scheduled to open in the next couple of years, including one in Israel, which will be able to manufacture processors with a more efficient process than the one currently used.