Too often, discussions of processor performance get simplified into clock frequencies. But the fact is, today's advanced applications and digital media demand more than improvements in processor clock rates to realize their full potential. Modern processors must be tailored to efficiently process a wide variety of operations. Among them:

• Productivity applications and utilities
• Rich Internet applications and media types
• Desktop, server and network operating systems
• Sophisticated, real-time 3D graphics
• Real-time video and audio encoding and decoding
• Advanced interfaces, including speech input and 3D interface display
• Connected applications, including e-business software and advanced Internet-based applications
• Network management tools and utilities
  

The IntelŪ PentiumŪ III processor meets these demands with a design optimized to enhance the performance of key tasks. At the core of the new processor are more than 70 new instructions that enable a powerful process known as streaming, single instruction-multiple data (SIMD) extensions. Using streaming SIMD extensions, the Pentium III processor can make quick work of complex tasks, such as processing voice input, encoding and decoding video and audio, creating 3D graphics, and manipulating images, that are vital to Internet Age businesses. Enhancements to processor interaction with system memory and the L2 cache also boost performance.

 How It Works
Most of the improvements occur inside the upgraded floating-point unit (FPU) within the Pentium III processor. Intel added a third register set to the two present in the IntelŪ PentiumŪ II processor, enhancing parallel operation. More important, SIMD operation allows the processor to dispatch a single instruction to execute tasks on more than one piece of data. The result: The Pentium III processor can execute four floating-point operations in a single instruction.

Intel has also refined the way that the Pentium III processor manages floating point operation and IntelŪ MMX™ technology instructions, breaking through bottlenecks. In the Pentium II processor and PentiumŪ processors with MMX technology, floating point and Intel MMX technology operations occur in the same register set. So if the processor is engaged in floating point instructions and then encounters Intel MMX technology instructions, a delay occurs while the shared register is cleared and switched to handle the Intel MMX technology instructions. The Pentium III processor, however, conducts floating point and Intel MMX technology operations concurrently, enhancing performance of tasks such as the display of 3D graphics, which often requires both floating point operation and Intel MMX technology.

IT professionals will also find that the Pentium III processor is optimized to handle the kind of large and streaming data sets that have become common in network-aware and Internet-based applications. Through the streaming SIMD extensions, software can exert control over the L2 cache of the Pentium III processor. For example, an application can tell the processor to prefetch specific data into the L2 cache to boost performance. Or the cache can be sidestepped entirely, allowing video and other streaming media types to flow uninterrupted from main memory to the processor—again producing more efficient operation. Write operations to memory can be similarly enhanced, by sidestepping the L2 cache and streaming data directly to the memory subsystem.

Taken together, these enhancements improve a wide range of memory-bound software. Enterprise-level database programs and Web-based transaction processing, for example, will benefit from the more efficient memory handling of the Pentium III processor. Emerging e-business software and services will also benefit, as the Pentium III processor offers the performance needed to conduct several demanding tasks at once, All manner of media-related operations, from video encoding to audio playback and speech recognition, can improve.

The Pentium III processor boasts the fastest clock frequencies of any IntelŪ processor. The first Pentium III processors run at 450MHz and 500MHz, with a 550MHz version due out in the second quarter. Future versions will run at clock speeds of 600MHz and higher.

 Manageability Maven
The Pentium III processor delivers unique management benefits for IT professionals. Most important, each Pentium III processor includes a processor serial number—a value that is hardwired into the processor during the manufacturing process. IT managers can use this value to help identify systems on the network or over the Internet, and to serve as another layer of identification when handling access requests. Already, network administration tools, such as Computer Associates Unicenter TNG and IntelŪ LANDeskŪ Client Manager, are being optimized to take advantage of the processor serial number feature.

A wide variety of products and services are using the processor serial number to secure communications and data access over the Internet. The Sabre Group, which provides the Sabre online travel reservation service for thousands of travel agents worldwide, will use the processor serial number to tailor information delivery for individual customers. Travel agencies will be able to access their negotiated discount structures and other sensitive data, with the processor serial number providing strong assurance that the system being used to access the proprietary information is, in fact, from the authorized business. Online presentations and video conferences can likewise use the processor serial number to limit access to a tightly controlled group of authorized individuals and systems.

When PCs based on the Pentium III processor arrive, they will be built around the IntelŪ 440BX chipset. IT managers will find that the familiar motherboard technology and chipset platform can help ease the transition to the new processor as they integrate it into their installed base. In the second half of 1999, the new IntelŪ 820 chipset will add support for advanced RDRAM memory and more security and manageability features.

 Pentium III Processor Is IT
For IT professionals, Internet streaming SIMD instructions extensions enable client PCs to handle emerging applications. Advanced interfaces, sophisticated data retrieval and analysis tools, and next-generation video communications will all demand rapid processing of 3D graphics, video, audio and speech. The Pentium III processor will produce a more compelling experience on the Internet, particularly as streaming media, interactive 3D graphics, and other demanding technologies become prevalent. The streaming SIMD capability of the Pentium III processor helps ensure that your enterprise will be able adopt these powerful tools as they arrive.

Cutting-edge performance, advanced management features, and assured compatibility. With the Intel Pentium III processor, IT managers can position their business for emerging performance demands without having to requalify new motherboards and chipsets. The result: The Pentium III processor is your best choice for running next-generation e-business, productivity, management and Internet software.

The performance, management features, and compatibility of the Pentium III processor makes it the best choice for IT managers seeking to position their enterprise for the future.