MMX (instruction set)

This article is about the instruction set for Intel Pentium and Pentium II processors. For the operating system that used the abbreviation name as the latest version, see Windows 3.0.

Pentium with MMX

MMX is a single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) instruction set architecture designed by Intel, introduced on January 8, 1997[1][2] with its Pentium P5 (microarchitecture) based line of microprocessors, named "Pentium with MMX Technology".[3] It developed out of a similar unit introduced on the Intel i860,[4] and earlier the Intel i750 video pixel processor. MMX is a processor supplementary capability that is supported on IA-32 processors by Intel and other vendors as of 1997. AMD also added MMX instruction set in its K6 processor.

The New York Times described the initial push, including Super Bowl advertisements, as focused on "a new generation of glitzy multimedia products, including videophones and 3-D video games."[5]

MMX has subsequently been extended by several programs by Intel and others: 3DNow!, Streaming SIMD Extensions (SSE), and ongoing revisions of Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX).

  1. ^ "Makers Unveil PCs With Intel's MMX Chip". The New York Times. January 9, 1997. Archived from the original on January 13, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019. Intel's new multimedia extension technology, called MMX, ...
  2. ^ Ch, Rajiv; rasekaran (January 8, 1997). "Intel to unveil faster Pentium chip". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  3. ^ "Embedded Pentium Processors with MMX Technology". Intel. Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2007.
  4. ^ Mittal, Millind; Peleg, Alex; Weiser, Uri (1997). "MMX Technology Architecture Overview" (PDF). Intel Technology Journal. 1 (3). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  5. ^ Calem, Robert E. (January 24, 1997). "Intel's MMX: The Technology Behind the Hoopla". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 13, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019.