streaming SIMD extension (SSE)

The StreamingSIMDExtension (SSE) is an instruction set extension from Intel that accelerates the computing operations of various central processing units( CPU) such as the Pentium and the Xeon.

For the Pentiums, there are two extension sets for multimedia applications( MMX) SSE-1 and SSE-2. SSE-2 offers 144 new instructions in addition to the performance of Single Instruction Multiple Data ( SIMD) with which SIMD operations can be executed with 128 bits. With the added instructions, the total number of all instructions required for program task execution can be reduced. This significantly increases the processing speed for image processing, audio processing and video processing.

Transfer rates of 3.2 GB/s are achieved when the system bus is clocked at 400 MHz. SSE-2 commands improve performance in multimedia, computer games and Internet applications.

The extended 64-bit version of the Xeon and the Atom processor know another extension set SSE-3.