Intel Corp Monday announced the availability of new Pentium OverDrive processors with MMX technology. The MMX multi-media extensions, now available for upgradable 100, 90 and 75MHz Pentium processors, enable the main processor to handle video, audio and graphics faster and more efficiently, by processing instructions in parallel. OverDrive processors for 166 MHz and 200MHz Pentiums were introduced in January. With the extensions, a 100MHz Pentium runs at 166 MHz, a 90 Mhz at 150 and a 75 Mhz at 125. Various applications designed specifically for MMX are already available, with many more expected throughout the year. Even software not written especially for MMX should run 10% to 20% faster with MMX, Intel says. The company sees the home consumer, and the games market in particular, as the primary market for the MMX enhancements. The suggested retail prices for the new processors are $500 for the 100MHz upgrade and $400 for the 75MHz and 90MHz versions.
