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Copyright © 1998 by Fabian Pascal. All Rights Reserved
By Fabian Pascal
Best of Breed System -- 2nd Generation:
Processor, Graphics and Disk Subsystems
I started this series in a print publication more than a year
ago because I was fed up with the increasing focus on the corporate
user in business computing and on 3D/gaming in personal computing.
In fact, I left the publication because of its shift to corporate
computing. As the Internet expanded, the emphasis on gaming and
now overclocking has turned into a frenzy. A plethora of Web sites
have come out of the woodwork, going to absurd extremes to squeeze
the last possible MHz out of the CPU and video card. Product selection
for review is indiscriminate, "reviews" consist of mainly
regurgitation of specs, are frequently based on pre-shipping units
and recommendations are superficial and based primarily on short
gaming and synthetic tests, irrelevant to, or unrealistic for
the business user.
The purpose of this series has been to focus on the needs of the
neglected individual business user--either a home business, or
professional--and cut through the chase of technical babble and
irrelevant tests results. It specifies a continuously updated
recommended system, assembled from best-of-breed components. Based
on my own research I identify promising components, assemble them
into full systems and assess them in realistic use, as well as
benchmark them at the application level, where it counts. Based
on the results, which I publish, the best components become part
of the recommended configuration and stay there until displaced
by a new version, product or technology fares better in evaluation.
The series has documented the several PC subsystems and their components and explained
how they all interact to affect overall performance. Over time
I have assembled and evaluated various components and have published
meaningful results of tests and benchmarks, to justify my recommendations.
The last
incarnation of the recommended configuration was the result
of several incremental upgrades and left out, for various reasons,
certain subsystems. This and the next article will overview the
current recommended system which includes
those subsystems, in light of developments in each of the subsystem
areas and the experience gained to date. The system board and
the processor, graphics and disk subsystems are covered below.
The following article will overview the communication, keyboard/mouse,
printing and scanning subsystems. The series will then proceed
to the assembling the system -- case, cooling and configuration
and each of the subsystems will be reviewed in more detail and
benchmarked in subsequent articles. Components will be upgraded
as we go along, when warranted.
System Board
Performance is no longer a significant issue with Slot 1 system boards. As processor, bus and memory speeds increase, quality of implementation and reliability of operation and compatibility have become the important criteria. For users who do not care to overclock. there are many good system boards available and I have offered some selection guidelines in my PC Advisor section.
For overclockers, the Abit's BX6 and second generation BH6 (www.abit-usa.com) have gained considerable reputation, primarily due to their jumperless design and the very convenient SoftMenu feature, which allows changing CPU and bus settings (including voltage) from the BIOS. Having worked with a BX6 and two BH6 units for quite some time, I have experienced quite a few problems, particularly with BH6; and recently I've seen comments on the Net echoing this.Since a thrird generation of Slot 1 boards are coming to the market as I write, some also jumperless and supporting additional bus speeds, I will be looking at the most promising. In the meantime, I am keeping the BX6 in the recommended configuration, with AOpen AX6B (www.aopenamerica.com) as an alternative.
Having investigated Super7 system boards and tested one of
the better ones, I have concluded that the slightly lower price
of the K6-2 is not significant enough, relative to the cost of
the whole system, to choose it over a Slot 1 system for business
applications, particularly since stability, support and availability
have been wanting. AMD's forthcoming K7 may change the equation,
as it may overtake Intel CPUs in performance (Cyrix's Jalapeno
also looks interesting on paper). However, K7 will require a Slot
A system board, different than Super7 and AMD and Cyrix have shown
consistent problems in bringing product to market. I will continue
to monitor non-Intel platforms and will investigate them when
warranted.
Processor Subsystem
CPU
The current generation of Intel CPUs is the Pentium II Deschutes
(350, 400 and 450MHz) running at 100MHz FSB. Earlier benchmarks
showed that a CPU faster than the older PII Klamath (266, 300,
333MHz) would not justify the initial high price of the Deschutes
for business applications. CPU prices have come down considerably
and newer benchmark versions show that heavy multitaskers may
benefit from a faster CPU.
The just announced first generation Pentium III Katmai at 500MHz
does not bring much to the table relative to the PII/400,450.
It has the same cache sizes and runs at the same 100MHz FSB. Performance
gains, if any, will accrue primarily to multimedia applications
and only if they support its new 3D New Instructions (KNI) at
that. 500MHz.
The second generation PIII may run at 133MHz, with L1 running
at 1/2 CPU speed and and reach 800MHz by 1999's end.AMD's K7,
also due in 4Q99, may run at 200MHz FSB, with L2 running at 1/3
CPU clock and reach 800MHz too. From a business applications perspective,
they are the ones to watch, depending on whether the other, slower
subsystems (video, disk,communication) will also improve. But
when the second generation CPUs actually ship -- particularly
given AMD's record to date -- in what final form, with what effect
on business applications and what price remains to be seen, particularly
since they require new chipsets and system boards altogether.
In the last quarter of 1998 Intel has shipped PII/300 and PII/333
CPUs with Deschutes 450 core at Klamath prices. If you can still
lay your hands on one of those, do it. Otherwise, overclocking
a Klamath PII/300 or 333 is probably still more cost-effective
until the PIII-K7 dust settles well into 2000, than a Deschutes
PII or first generation Katmai PIII.
I have left, therefore, the PII/300 in the recommended configuration
and will publish the gains from overclocking it in a future article.
Memory
Various new types of and standards for memory faster than the
current SDRAM have been proposed for the forthcoming faster CPU
and bus speeds (DDR RDRAM, DRDRAM or RamBus, SLDRAM, ESDRAM),
but whether they will be supported and, if so, which, when and
with what effect are still open -- and controversial -- questions.
New DRAM will probably be expensive initially anyway.
For now SDRAM is still the memory of choice. High quality 8ns
and even 10ns CAS2 PC100 SDRAM, will work at 100MHz FSB. But only
8ns modules are certified to run at 112 and 124 FSB (some will
run at 124 as CAS3). While there are Intel specifications for
labeling PC100 SDRAM, manufacturers use their own, different labeling,
which the average user is unlikely to understand. For example,
the Samsung scheme is:
GH: 10ns CAS2 @100MHz maximum
G8: 8ns CAS2 @100MHz, CAS3 @125MHz
G7: 7ns CAS2 @100,112MHz, CAS3 @124,143MHz
Beyond these speeds it's a matter of luck whether a module will
run stable and with what system board. Therefore, your best bet
is to buy memory from a reputable vendor, who guarantees the module
at your desired CAS latency and bus speed, e.g. Mushkin Components
(www.mushkin.com). Of course,
the higher the speed, the more expensive the memory.
Graphics Subsystem
Video Card
A new generation of graphics cards, combining 2D and 3D acceleration
in a single chipset, have been released. My tests show about 10%
improvement in business application performance relative to previous
generation (more in a future article). More video RAM allows the
new cards to support color depths of 24 and 32 bit. However, image
quality has improved only slightly.One problem has been lack of
clarity, particularly text, at resolutions of 1280x1024 and 1600x1200.
Moreover, to avoid the flicker characteristic of analog monitors
(and its negative health effects), the refresh rate must be kept
at minimum 75Hz, limiting thruput.
Display
LCD panel technology promises to offer significant progress. Aside
from the smaller footprint and lower radiation, LCD panels do
not suffer from flicker, so refresh rates can be as low as 60Hz,
freeing bandwitdth. But to stay compatible with existing video
cards, the first generation of LCD panels were analog. They required,
therefore, conversion of the signal from analog to digital, then
to analog again, degrading the image in the process and increasing
manufacturing cost.
The real solution is the digital LCD panel, which does away with
conversions and offers significant improvement in image quality.
Unfortunately, there is no agreed upon digital interface standard
yet. Most first generation digital panels implement the PanelLink
interface and are 13-15" in size, supporting resolutions
of up to 1024x768. IBM's T85 (www.ibm com) supports 1280x1024
and only Silicon Graphics 1600SW (www.sgi.com) supports 1600x1024.
The latter implements the TDMS interface and both come with panel-specific
video cards.
A digital LCD panel with minimal resolution of 1280x1024 and,
preferably, 1600x1200 is recommended. However, given the infancy
of the technology, the unsettled standard issue and the initial
high cost, the analog alternative, the Millenium G200 video card
(www.matrox.com) and Eizo-Nanao FX-E8 21" monitor (www.eizo.com) remains for the time being in
the recommended configuration. I will, however, monitor the digital
LCD field and upgrade the configuration when warranted.
Note: The monitor is the component most heavily used and the only
one that affects health, yet most users prefer to spend their
money on CPUs and DVD drives, but skimp on the display. For those
who can afford it, an 18" or larger digital LCD monitor is
a better use of money than a 21" CRT which costs half that
much.
Disk Subsystem (SCSI)
Developments in the SCSI arena -- Ultra2/LVD, higher density drives,
fibre channel, RAID and 64bit PCI -- benefit network servers.
With transfer rates of less than 15MB/sec, two hard drives --
the maximum an individual user is likely to have -- will not saturate
the 40MB/sec UltraWide SCSI cap even if they are accessed simultaneously,
which very few business applications do. So doubling the rate
to Ultra2Wide's 80MB/sec won't make a difference, let alone quadrupling
it to 160MB/sec with 64bit PCI. And as I showed in a previous article, business applications seem
to do as well with 7,200rpm drives as they do with 10,000rpm drives.
Controller
With only internal wide drives, a single channel UltraSCSI controller
like the Adaptec 2940UW (www.adaptec.com)
will do. For a mixture of wide and narrow internal drives (e.g.
removable), a dual channel controller, like the Ultra Diamond
FirePort 40 (www.diamondmm.com),
or the Ultra2 Adaptec 2940U2W, is recommended (more about this
in a forthcoming article).
Hard Drives
The hard drive recommendation remains unchanged. At 10,000rpm,
Seagate's Cheetah 9LP is the LVD (Ultra2Wide) option and IBM's
Ultrastar 9ZX is SE (UltraWide) option. Quantum's Viking II is
a 7,200rpm LVD alternative. All yield comparable performance for
most business applications.
Removable Drives
Despite quality and support problems, SyQuest's 1.5GB SyJet removable
drives performed better than their competitor, the Iomega Jaz,
and I have recommended it for backups and large volume archiving.
Unfortunately, the company declared bankruptcy recently (its assets
were acquired by Iomega, but it is not clear that they will continue
the operation). Even though the drives are still available, I
have removed the product from the recommended configuration. According
to specs, the most promising replacement seemes to be the Orb,
a removable drive from startup Castlewood Systems (www.castlewoodsystems.com) However, the release
of the product has been delayed considerably. If and when it becomes
available, I will look at it.
CD Drive
I am also keeping Plextor's UltraPleX 32X CD-ROM drive in the
recommended configuration. Even though 36X and even 40X drives
have become available, they are EIDE, while the UltraPleX is UltraSCSI.
Users who use CDs primarily to install software will not see much
improvement from 32X to 36X anyway. Startup Zen Research has developed
the Z40 drive (www.zenresearch.com),
based on improved technology which seems promising. If and when
the SCSI version becomes available, I will consider it.
Floppy Drive
Between Iomega's Zip and Imation's SuperDisk, I have recommended
the latter's IDE (not parallel!) version, primarily because of
backward compatibility with regular floppies (www.imation.com). It is, however, quite slow.
I won't be able to test the USB version until Windows NT 5.
Several new types of floppy drives have long been mentioned in
the press, but they have been delayed. According to specs, from
a performance standpoint two promising products are Sony's HiFD
(www.sony.com)
and Samsung's ProFD (www.sem.samsung.co.kr). Versions other than
parallel for the former may become available in February, the
latter is rumored to ship at end of 1999.
For the other components, stay tuned.
SYSTEM BOARD
BX6 [1]
Abit Computer (USA) Corp.
www.abit-usa.com
PROCESSOR SUBSYSTEM
Pentium II/300MHz Processor [2]
Intel Corp.
www.intel.com
GlobalWIN VEK-12 CPU Cooler [3]
Acadia Technology Inc.
www.globalwin.com.tw
PC100 SDRAM CAS2
Mushkin Components
www.mushkin.com
GRAPHICS SUBSYSTEM
FlexScan FX-E8 21" Monitor
Eizo Corp.
www.eizo.com
Millenium G200 Graphics Adapter [4]
Matrox Graphics Inc.
www.matrox.com
SCSI DISK SUBSYSTEM
AHA-2940U2W 64bit PCI Ultra2Wide Dual Channel Controller [5]
Adaptec Inc.
www.adaptec.com
Cheetah 9LP Ultra2Wide 9GB 10,000rpm Drive [6]
Seagate Technology Inc.
www.seagate.com
UltraPleX 32X Ultra CD-ROM Drive
Plextor Corp.
www.plextor.com
GlobalWIN King Kong Drive Cooler [7]
Acadia Technology Inc.
www.globalwin.com.tw
FLOPPY SUBSYSTEM
SuperDisk LS-120 IDE Floppy Drive
Imation Corp.
www.imation.com
COMMUNICATION SUBSYSTEM (56K)[8]
MessageSaver Data/Fax/Speakerphone/Answering Machine Modem
Multi-Tech Systems Inc.
www.multitech.com
HotCall 2000
Command Communications Inc.
www.command-comm.com
INPUT SUBSYSTEM
Cordless Desktop Keyboard and Mouse Combo
Logitech Inc. www.logitech.com
SYSTEM CASE
EN-8900 ATX Tower Case (lockable) [9]
Enlight Corp.
www.proqc.com.tw/~enlight/
SYSTEM INTEGRATION
DSi Inc.[7]
San Francisco CA
www.dsi2000.com
ALTERNATIVES AND OPTIONS
[1]
AX6BC
AOpen
www.aopen-usa.com
[2] Preferably SL2W8 with Deschutes 450MHz core
[3] If not overclocking
VIVA P2 CPU Cooler
TennMax United
www.tennmax.com
[4] for 3D users
Viper 550
Diamond Multimedia
www.tennmax.com
[5a] Dual Channel
FirePort 40 UltraWide Controller
Diamond Multimedia
www.diamondmm.com
[5b] Single Channel
AHA-2940UW UltraWide Controller
Adaptec Inc.
www.adaptec.com
[6a] 10,000rpm SE
Ultrastar 9ZX 9GB UltraWide
IBM Corp.
www.ibm.com
[6b] 7,200 rpm LVD
Viking II 9GB Ultra2Wide
Quantum Corp.
www.quantum.com
[7]
GlobalWIN I-Storm Drive Cooler
Acadia Technology Inc.
www.globalwin.com.tw
[8] USB (NT 5.0)
USRobotics 56K Voice Faxmodem Pro
3Com Corp.
www.3com.com
[9] Mid Tower
7J2A00 Lockable Case
California PC Products
www.calpc.com