<P> The Pentium III ( marketed as Intel Pentium III Processor , informally PIII ) brand refers to Intel 's 32 - bit x86 desktop and mobile microprocessors based on the sixth - generation P6 microarchitecture introduced on February 26 , 1999 . The brand 's initial processors were very similar to the earlier Pentium II - branded microprocessors . The most notable differences were the addition of the SSE instruction set ( to accelerate floating point and parallel calculations ) , and the introduction of a controversial serial number embedded in the chip during the manufacturing process . </P>
<P> The Pentium III ( marketed as Intel Pentium III Processor , informally PIII ) brand refers to Intel 's 32 - bit x86 desktop and mobile microprocessors based on the sixth - generation P6 microarchitecture introduced on February 26 , 1999 . The brand 's initial processors were very similar to the earlier Pentium II - branded microprocessors . The most notable differences were the addition of the SSE instruction set ( to accelerate floating point and parallel calculations ) , and the introduction of a controversial serial number embedded in the chip during the manufacturing process . </P>
when was the intel pentium iii processor introduced
when was the intel pentium iii processor introduced
February 26 , 1999
February 26 , 1999