The Future of NT-Compatible Hardware

We've all had it: driver envy, that wrenching feeling you get when you purchase new hardware only to discover it doesn't work with Windows NT. Driver envy is a close cousin to the even more insidious driver betrayal, in which a vendor claims NT compatibility in its literature but instead delivers only a subset of the product's functionality.

Whether you're feeling envious or betrayed, all NT users take a back seat with hardware vendors who are more interested in pursuing the lucrative (in terms of volume) Windows 3.x and Windows 9x markets. However, NT users are serious about their hardware and invest in higher-quality, higher-margin hardware than DOS and Windows users--vendors would be wise to pay attention.

Fortunately, the tide is starting to turn. Driven by swelling ranks (more than 11 million NT Workstation licenses sold) and Microsoft's push to place NT on client machines, hardware vendors are realizing that the NT-compatible hardware market is booming. From the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) to Windows World, the future of NT hardware support looks brighter by the minute.

NT Steals the Show at WinHEC
Developers are starting to catch on to the Win32 Driver Model, Microsoft's attempt to unify the NT and Win9x device driver architectures. At WinHEC '98, Microsoft demonstrated NT 5.0 systems driving everything from Universal Serial Bus (USB) to Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)-1394 FireWire. Microsoft even demonstrated supposedly NT-incompatible devices, such as the SideWinder joystick, working under NT's direction.

Even more telling was the overall tone of the conference, which had a clear NT bias. Microsoft stated unequivocally that NT is the future of client computing and backed these claims with several sessions about NT-related topics and technologies. Microsoft integrated new specifications (e.g., PC99) with discussions about IntelliMirror and the new breed of high-powered Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI)-compliant desktop and mobile systems.

One theme that was evident during the conference was the need for NT. From multimedia to performance I/O, Microsoft kept pushing the virtues of NT and its associated technologies and quieted some critics (for a discussion about NT-related misconceptions, see the sidebar, "Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks").

Microsoft only touched on Win9x, the venerable DOS-based operating system (OS), at this year's WinHEC. Win9x's presence was in a much diminished consumer role. The stage belonged to NT, and developers and conference attendees walked away with new NT 5.0 code builds and lots of material to ponder.

If I Only Had a Brain
Most of the exciting NT hardware developments fall into the CPU and system bus enhancement categories. WinHEC attendees were talking about the 100MHz Slot 1 design and the server-centric Slot 2 interfaces for Pentium II processors. Much of the discussion centered on identifying differences between the designs. The 100MHz Slot 1 design is a higher-clocked version of the Slot 1 design. The Slot 2 design incorporates a larger connector with more grounding pins and features a new CPU cartridge model with a full-speed Level 2 cache interface (current Pentium II cartridges use a half-speed interface). The Slot 2 design will use the new 0.25-micron Deschutes version of the Pentium II.

As with most new CPU and bus technologies, Intel will position the Slot 2 design for use in servers. However, if history is any indicator, you can expect to see Slot 2-based workstations in early 1999. In the long term, you can expect to see additional tweaks (e.g., MMX2) to the Slot 2 design and a larger Level 1 cache as part of the next revision (code-named Katmai). Another of Intel's advanced projects (code-named Willamette) promises a reengineered core, which might create the Pentium III.

Of course, thorn-in-Intel's-side Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), the little chip company that could, isn't waiting on Intel's slot designs. Although Intel's patent lawyers have shut out AMD from the slot-design market, AMD is busy working on its own chipset in an effort to stave off obsolescence. AMD is combining its Pentium-throwback socket design with a souped-up 3-D version of the K6 chip to provide an interesting alternative for bargain-hunting NT users.

The real action is in the Pentium II arena. My experience with the latest NT 5.0 beta builds indicates you need the added power that only a Pentium II can provide. The combination of a bigger working set, a dynamic configuration architecture, and support for cutting-edge hardware translate into a hefty, power-hungry OS. A Pentium II (350MHz to 400MHz) with a 100MHz system bus and Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) Pro graphics is the unofficial design point for NT Workstation 5.0.

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