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Microsoft Optimizes Array of Products for Intel's Pentium III Processor

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Microsoft has announced that its broad range of products, including Windows, Office 2000, and Microsoft games, are optimized for the performance abilities of Intel's Pentium III processor. The Pentium III processor platform provides faster computing with Windows, enabling users to enjoy both performance gains and new capabilities in a richer Windows environment. Microsoft is committed to developing many products and services to optimize the benefits of the Pentium III processor.

Key Takeaways:

  • Microsoft's Windows family of operating systems, including Windows 98, Windows 2000 Professional, and Windows 2000 Server, will deliver superior performance via the Pentium III processor.
  • Windows technologies, such as Direct X, DirectAnimation, and Direct3D, have been optimized for the Pentium III processor, accelerating 3-D rendering tasks and providing exciting new levels of visual quality and realism.
  • Office 2000 will provide users with increased performance and richer support for high-quality graphics and interactive multimedia, thanks to Pentium III processor enhancements.
  • Microsoft games, including "Flight Simulator," "Full Auto," "Midtown Madness," and "Baseball 2000," have been optimized for the Pentium III processor, resulting in improved frame rates and graphical performance.
  • The Pentium III processor will enable a whole new class of high-performance multimedia-centric applications, providing business and home computer users with enhanced capabilities and performance.

Statistics:

  • The Pentium III processor platform provides a 20% increase in performance compared to the previous generation of processors.
  • Windows 2000 Server will support the Pentium III processor, providing a blazing-fast user experience.
  • DirectAnimation will benefit from Intel's Streaming SIMD Extensions by using the Pentium III optimizations in the Direct3D API.
  • The Microsoft MPEG-4 video codec, due in the first half of 1999, will provide dramatic improvements to on-demand encoding speed and real-time encoding data rate.

Sources:

  • Microsoft Corp. press release, "Microsoft Optimizes Array of Products for Intel's Pentium III Processor," February 17, 1999.
  • Intel Corp. press release, "Intel Announces New Processor Platform with Microsoft," February 1999.
  • Microsoft Corp. website, "Microsoft Optimizes Array of Products for Intel's Pentium III Processor," February 1999.

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