The MMX Files Investigating the phenomena surrounding Intel's new MMX technology.

Computer users can't win. As soon as one processortechnology becomes widely adopted, another comes along that makesit seem antiquated--or at least somewhat less thanstate-of-the-art. And so it is that Intel has recently rolled outits trademarked MMX media enhancement technology for Pentium andPentium Pro processors. (Pentium Pros with MMX technology are nowcalled Pentium IIs.)

Most major hardware vendors already offer Pentium MMX PCs, andPentium IIs are expected to be available from some computermanufacturers by the time you read this. Intel is targeting thePentium MMX at the home user and positioning the higher-performancePentium II as its business processor. The Pentium II is designed tofully support operating systems such as Windows NT and OS/2 (and torun Windows 95 much faster than the Pentium does).

What Is MMX?

MMX technology is designed to enhance multimedia andcommunications. The Pentium MMX is available at 166 MHz and 200 MHzfor desktop machines, and 150 MHz and 166 MHz for portablemachines. The Pentium II is offered at 266 MHz and 233 MHz fordesktops.

On the technical side, MMX technology consists of threearchitectural enhancements:

1. New instructions: MMX contains 57 new instructionsdesigned to manipulate and process video, audio and graphical datamore efficiently.

2. Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD): Essentially,this technology allows the chip to process the types ofinstructions commonly found in multimedia and communicationsprograms simultaneously rather than sequentially. Since more getsdone at once, jobs can be processed faster.

3. More cache: Intel has doubled the on-chip cache sizeto 32K for both the Pentium MMX and the Pentium II. Now, moreinstructions and data can be stored on the chip, reducing thenumber of times the processor has to search slower, off-chip memoryareas for information.

Intel has further enhanced the Pentium II by developing newpackaging for the processor. Previously, the processor pluggeddirectly into the motherboard using many small pins. With the newpackaging, called the Single Edge Contact cartridge or SECcartridge, the processor is completely enclosed in a plasticcartridge that plugs into its own specially designed slot.According to Intel, the new packaging will allow the company tocontinue to deliver higher-performance processors at reasonableprices.

Faster Than Ever

Of all the new features of MMX, the one most likely to benefitthe general business user is the larger cache size, which increasesoverall performance. Intel claims the Pentium MMX is 10 percent to20 percent faster than a comparable Pentium.

According to Intel, the 266 MHz Pentium II delivers aperformance boost of 160 percent to 200 percent over the 200 MHzPentium processor. The performance boost on the Pentium II is aparticular plus for multitasking. For example, while it is possibleto print and run two applications at the same time on a 200 MHzPentium, the performance time on the second application will slowdown noticeably. However, the Pentium II can easily handle thattask; in fact, Intel claims it can handle up to eight simultaneousapplications.

For multimedia and communications applications, the performanceboost can be even higher. According to Intel, the Pentium MMX canrun these applications as much as 60 percent faster than thePentium, and the 266 MHz Pentium II runs these applications morethan twice as fast.

The catch is that to get the maximum performance boost, anapplication must be written to support the new technology. Intel isworking with a number of independent software vendors to bring MMXtechnology-enhanced applications to the business world. While morethan a dozen software titles supported MMX at the technology'slaunch in January, there are unlikely to be large numbers ofapplications supporting MMX for a year or more, as softwaredevelopers design new versions of their applications.

MMX Applications

Today, many of the applications that support MMX technology aregames or "edutainment" titles. The only business-relatedtitles available are geared toward multimedia and graphicsprofessionals. These include Microsoft PictureIt and AdobePhotoDeluxe.

The types of business applications Intel believes are mostlikely to support MMX technology in the long run are scanning,image manipulation, Internet browsers and plug-ins; video editingand playback, printing, faxing, compression, sales presentations,computer-based training and videoconferencing. For example,Intel's Videophone supports MMX technology.

It's important to keep in mind that, if history is anyguide, full support for the MMX chip may never occur--after all,vendors still don't support all the features of the 486processor.

One interesting application for MMX technology that is justappearing on the horizon: Some semiconductor vendors are startingto use the technology to eliminate add-on boards or chips, allowinghardware vendors to offer less expensive versions of theirproducts.

For example, Motorola's software modem uses a Pentium MMXprocessor for modem controller and data pump functions. The benefitis that users can upgrade these modems simply by adding newsoftware. And because software modems are much cheaper formanufacturers to produce than standard modems, they can packadditional features onto your machine.

Act Now?

Purchasing a Pentium with MMX technology costs only about $100more than buying a similarly configured Pentium without the newtechnology. That's not a bad price for a 20 percent performanceboost.

The Pentium II is expected to be available for close to$3,000--a good deal considering that the first Pentiums wereoriginally introduced for about $5,000.

Intel also offers an upgrade to MMX technology for existingPentium owners, called the Pentium Overdrive processor. Any daynow, the Overdrive will be available for processors with currentspeeds up to 166 MHz and in the second half of the year formachines with speeds up to 200 MHz. The Overdrive's list pricesrange from $399 to $499. Overall, the upgrade prices are a bithigh, considering you could get a whole new computer for less than$2,000.

Because of the new packaging for the processor on the PentiumII, no upgrades will be available for Pentium Pro machines.

What about purchasing a notebook computer with MMX technology?Here the benefits are unclear. According to BODYs performed byPC Week magazine, the mobile 150 MHz Pentium MMX is onlyslightly faster than the non-MMX 133 MHz. And the 166 MHz mobilePentium processor for notebooks eats up so much battery life, itmay not be worth it, either.

MMX technology from Intel benefits business users by providing aslight performance boost for the Pentium and a larger one for thePentium II. It also greatly improves performance for multimedia andgraphics applications. It's one more way the hardware industryis providing more performance for little additional cost. However,it will be a while before business applications that support thistechnology become widely available.

Contact Sources

Intel Corp., 2200 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, CA95052.

Cheryl J. Goldberg is a former editor of PC Magazine and hasreported on the computer industry for more than 14 years. Write toher in care of Entrepreneur, 2445 McCabe Way, Irvine, CA 92614. Youcan also reach her via CompuServe at70641.3632@compuserve.com.