More chip choices for advanced computing
sjmercury.com
Also, while every chip supports Intel's MMX multimedia instructions, there is
a new wrinkle. Starting later this month, a separate set of multimedia
instructions called 3DNow will be introduced by AMD and offered to other chip
manufacturers with the goal of improving a computer's ability to handle
complex graphics.
And the size and location of a Level 2 cache -- memory that improves the
performance of a computer by making information available to the processor
more quickly -- is becoming ever more important.
AMD's new designs
Even AMD, which once defined itself as being the most compatible of the x86
clone manufacturers, is promising new chip designs it says will duplicate the
performance of Intel's new slot technology while still using the older, less
expensive socket design.
At the end of this month, AMD will offer a new version of its K6 processor that
adds support for the Accelerated Graphics Port, or AGP. Developed by Intel,
AGP provides a faster, direct connection between graphics processors and
system memory.
At the same time, AMD will introduce 3DNow, a set of 21 instructions written
by AMD and supported by Cyrix, IDT and Microsoft, that will speed up the
processing of 3D graphics data. According to AMD officials, those
enhancements should make the upcoming K6-2 capable of matching the
Pentium II's 3D graphics performance. |
