Intel Preps MMX2 Extensions For Next Gen Xscale Processor
Intel promises clearer graphics, faster video and better power efficiency for cellphones and PDAs with its second generation wireless multimedia instruction set MMX2.
Source: Tom's Hardware GuideGiven the rapid growth of the mobile phone market, it is no surprise that also Intel claims a slice of the revenue pie by making its chips more attractive. At the recent IDF, the company announced its "Hermon" platform which will organize the current "Bulverde" chip into four different platforms - low-end consumer, mid-range consumer, high-tier consumer and high-end digital enterprise.
Wireless MMX2 is one of the improvements Intel is preparing for its cellphone and PDA processors. According to spokesman Mark Miller, Bulverde will not support the new extensions. MMX2 will be reserved for the successor of the chip, which Miller declined to comment on. However, it is obvious that Intel will release an update to Bulverde soon, since it is based on the almost four-year-old PXA255 core.
In its core, wireless MMX2 is built on the original MMX instruction set that was introduced with the Pentium 166 back in 1997. The first generation of Wireless MMX was launched last April with the introduction of the Bulverde processor. The extension added 43 new RISC-based instructions that, according to Intel, boosted multimedia performance by 25 to 40 percent.
Intel did not provide many details about MMX2, but said that it will improve "handset performance and battery life." The new extension will bring 14 new instructions as well as enhancements to nine existing instructions, according to Miller.
0