Technology


Intel® Streaming SIMD Extensions 4 (SSE4) Instruction Set Innovation

Unlocking performance and energy efficiency with new instruction set innovations. Integrated into Intel® processors based on Intel® 45nm high-k metal gate silicon technology, Intel® Streaming SIMD Extensions 4 (Intel® SSE4) instructions are Intel's most significant media instruction set architecture (ISA) advancements since 2001.

These new instructions build upon the Intel® 64 architecture ISA and enable Intel processors to deliver superior performance and energy efficiency to a broad range of 32- and 64-bit applications including:

  • Graphics
  • Video encoding and processing
  • 3-D imaging
  • Gaming
  • High-performance applications

Intel SSE4 is the result of continued work with the ISV community to deliver instruction set extensions that allow developers to easily enhance their products while maintaining the necessary application-level compatibility across processor generations.

New innovations that improve the performance and energy efficiency of Intel® architecture

Enhancing video, graphics, and high performance applications

Intel SSE4 consists of 54 instructions divided into two major categories: Vectorizing Compiler and Media Accelerators, and Efficient Accelerated String and Text Processing.

  • Vectorizing Compiler and Media Accelerators will benefit audio, video, and image editing applications, video encoders, 3-D applications, and games.
  • Efficient Accelerated String and Text Processing will benefit database and data mining applications, and those that utilize parsing, search, and pattern matching algorithms like virus scanners and compilers.

45nm Intel® Core™ microarchitecture based processors support 47 of the Intel SSE4 instructions including the Vectorizing Compiler and Media Accelerator instructions. The remaining instructions will be available in Intel's next generation microarchitecture (codenamed Nehalem) due to be released in 2008.

Be ready

Check out the Intel Software Network to learn more about Intel SSE4 and how it will help you create applications with superior performance and energy efficiency.