A Intel's MMX technology has been widely available for over 12 months. It is now virtually impossible to buy a Pentium processor without MMX. Even if you buy the non-Intel alternatives from AMD and Cyrix you will get MMX technology -- whether you want it or not!
The Intel MMX processor has two advantages over the standard Pentium processor. Firstly it has a larger on-board cache, and secondly it includes 57 new instructions associated with multimedia and graphics. The larger cache means that the Pentium MMX processor will run about 20 per cent faster than a standard Pentium processor with the same clock speed. The 57 new instructions can provide a 400 per cent increase in speed in some circumstances. However, most software that is currently installed on your computer will not support the MMX instructions, and in fact most business applications would gain little from the MMX instruction set.
Packages that do benefit tend to be multimedia in nature or involve compression, ie desktop publishing, graphics, CAD packages and audio and video communication programs. New versions of this type of software are beginning to include some MMX support, so choosing MMX is an investment in the future. Some packages can take advantage of MMX without being designed specifically for it. For example, many games use Microsoft's DirectX drivers, the later versions of which have been optimised for MMX.
One area where home users really need speed is games. Games tend to be designed for the latest hardware, so the new games are likely to support MMX. Unfortunately, MMX has poor 3D support, which is the major component of many of the trendiest games such as Quake II. A good 3D graphics accelerator card may provide more benefit.
Upgrading your software will depend on the policy of software vendors. A lot of packages have free patches that will allow the software to use MMX, while other vendors will expect you to purchase an upgrade.
If you have a large number of software packages on your computer you might consider programs such as CyberMedia's OilChange (http://www.cybermedia.com/products/oilchange/ochome.html) or Quarterdeck's TuneUp (http://www.qdeck.com/qdeck/products/tuneup/) which will automatically search the Internet for the latest drivers, patches or updates.
All Pentium MMX processors will fit into a standard Socket 7 motherboard. However, they do require lower voltages which are not supported by older boards. An easy way of upgrading to MMX is to buy an Intel Pentium Overdrive Processor with MMX technology. These are designed for installation in your computer without having to configure jumpers on your motherboard. In addition, the overdrive processors have an in-built voltage regulator. The upgrade path for a computer with a 120MHz processor is the 180MHz overdrive processor.
- Roy Chambers