Pentium’s MMX Is a Big Boost--for Some Users Anyway
Whether it’s cars or computers, you can count on a continual stream of new models, with each new line forcing dealers to discount old inventory. And so it is that PCs equipped with Intel Corp.’s new Pentium processors with MMX technology have now hit the streets, and ordinary Pentiums are seen by some as yesterday’s news.
But not everyone needs to run out to get the MMX chip, and if you do, plan on upgrading some of your software programs.
The main chip, or processor, gets the most attention when you’re shopping for a new PC. And rightfully so, because it’s a big piece of the PC performance pie. Over the last 14 years, we’ve moved from the 8088 to the 286, the 386, the 486 and on to the Pentium.
A linear approach to chip development was fine when software primarily consisted of applications that allowed us to crunch numbers, write letters and sort databases.
Today, we want high-quality graphics, full-motion video and stereo sound--and software publishers are ready to give it to us, if only the hardware can handle it. That’s where MMX comes in: It provides the hardware performance boost for media such as audio, graphics and video.
To make this feat possible, Intel doubled the chip’s internal cache. The cache is a dedicated memory bank that processes information close to the chip’s speed rather than using slower speed system memory. The larger the cache, the faster the performance.
The MMX also sports 57 new instructions within the chip geared strictly to accelerating multimedia and communications. Don’t let the technical details confuse you. All this means in real life is that you could use an MMX software program and simultaneously take a video phone call over the Internet without the system freezing.
The MMX promises and delivers our computing experience to new levels, but there is one catch: Software has to be written to take advantage of the MMX technology. As you might expect, most MMX applications are in the graphics, image-editing and game arenas.
Software publishers are rushing to get their MMX-ready releases into the hands of users, but so far only the bestsellers (read: major software companies with deep research and development pockets) have announced them.
Intel claims that some software programs rewritten to use MMX will perform up to 400% better than on a regular Pentium PC. That’s a big claim, and it may be true. However, most experts agree that the typical performance increase ranges from 35% to 50%.
Should you buy a new computer with the MMX chip? My take is that if you are content with the PC you have, even if it’s a dinosaur 386 that merely churns out a great letter, save your money until you start getting dissatisfied with it.
If you’re an avid PC gamer and multimedia fan, MMX is for you. MMX does hardly anything for traditional word processing, database and similar applications, unless you consider an overall 10% to 20% performance boost running Word something to shout about.
But even considering that, if you’re in the market for a new PC now, a Pentium with MMX is only a few hundred dollars more than a regular Pentium. Go for the MMX. You’ll be set for the next wave of software written to take advantage of it.
Kim Komando is a Fox TV host, syndicated talk radio host and founder of the Komputer Klinic on America Online (keyword KOMANDO). She can be reached via e-mail at komando@komando.com
