Article View: alt.comp.hardware
Article #2045Re: MMX-upgrading
From: Doug Phelps
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 00:00
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 00:00
45 lines
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3317 bytes
Gordon Foreman wrote: > > Michele Chubirka wrote: > > > > Okay, > > > > Will someone explain, (for a layman) what an MMX chip is? I've > > started to hear about it, but know nothing about it and I'm NOT a > > programmer. > > > > Michele > > Gordon Foreman wrote: > Michele, > MMX is Intel's new enhancement to the Pentium and soon the Pentium Pro > CPUs. Originally, MMX stood for Multimedia Extensions, but then Intel > backtracked and said that it doesn't stand for anything; it is just a > trademarked acronym. > Regardless, MMX CPUs are supposed to handle multimedia and live video > much more smoothly than non-MMX CPUs. [Of course, the applications have > to be written to use MMX.] > If you are looking at buying a system in the near future, then you > probably want to go ahead and get an MMX system. If you wait until > summer or later, you may not have any choice. > I hope this helps. > -- > Gordon Foreman - Author/PC Buyer's Handbook > gforeman@ix.netcom.com > http://www.netcom.com/~gforeman/small.html To go a little further, Intels MMX also has additional L1 cache, which should offer a gain in performance with non MMX software. Althought the gain may not be very large. It also adds an additional instruction set to the CPU. If you are considering a system now, you might want to look at other options that AMD and Cyrix will be offering very soon. They will also add the instruction set and even more L1 cache. You will have options other than Intel, but the additional features of MMX will be part of it. -- Doug Phelps Happy 6x86 owner!
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X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: ffec8,de6d92d1006e2262 X-Google-Attributes: gidffec8,public X-Google-Thread: f8e37,de6d92d1006e2262 X-Google-Attributes: gidf8e37,public X-Google-Thread: 112149,de6d92d1006e2262 X-Google-Attributes: gid112149,public X-Google-Thread: 10265e,de6d92d1006e2262 X-Google-Attributes: gid10265e,public X-Google-Thread: 1045b9,de6d92d1006e2262 X-Google-Attributes: gid1045b9,public X-Google-Thread: f5f89,de6d92d1006e2262 X-Google-Attributes: gidf5f89,public X-Google-Thread: 106c00,de6d92d1006e2262 X-Google-Attributes: gid106c00,public X-Google-Thread: 109e38,de6d92d1006e2262 X-Google-Attributes: gid109e38,public From: Doug Phelps <doug@pagesz.net> Subject: Re: MMX-upgrading Date: 1997/02/21 Message-ID: <330E1AFA.67AF@pagesz.net> X-Deja-AN: 220509618 References: <01bc0e20$34773060$7d0002c3@ripper> <32EFAB7B.E5@pagesz.net> <01bc0ed2$8a1b57a0$2a262095@KAUFFMAM.vitro.com> <32F6EE46.7622@oce.nl> <Pine.SUN.3.91.970211095516.18020A-100000@chris> <5dqoj2$9dg@samba.rahul.net> <5dscgh$dtl@pion.sci.kun.nl> <5dvv31$fu0$1@carrera.intergate.bc.ca> <33088c15.2024456@nntp.ix.netcom.com> <01bc1ea2$5c345500$50bd6bcc@chapio.wolfe.net> <330ddb30.4702212@news.erols.com> <330E15E5.36F5@ix.netcom.com> X-Server-Date: 21 Feb 1997 21:58:37 GMT Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Organization: http://www.pagesz.net/~doug Mime-Version: 1.0 Reply-To: doug@pagesz.net Newsgroups: alt.comp.hardware,biz.comp.hardware,comp.hardware,comp.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.sys.ibm.hardware,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc-hardware X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.01Gold (Win95; I)