May 29th

Windows x64 Driver Nightmare

As I delve more into trying to get a real 64-bit high-performance video workstation setup here, I am realizing that it may just be impossible with Windows. That's right, over a year after AMD introduced 64-bit processors, and Linux had good support for them, you still can't easily set up a Windows x64 system. If you head over to web sites with reviews, such as this one at Extreme Tech, you'll see that you can get x64 several ways, including a free upgrade from XP Pro direct from Microsoft, but that doesn't mean you will be able to get all the kernel-level drivers that you will need. Of course ATI and NVidia have video and chipset drivers available, but there are many other devices and issues you may have to deal with.

To give you and example in my case. I have a system set up with an Athlon 64 FX51 on the SK8N motherboard, and it has the ATI x800 Pro card in it. The main applications that I would like the 64-bit OS for are EDIUS Pro from Canopus for non-linear high-definition video editing, and a Qcolor5 digital camera hooked up to an Olympus BX51 microscope and using an image capture suite called Qcapture Pro. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, there are no 64-bit Windows drivers for the EDIUS capture board, or for the hardware USB dongle that acts as protection on the Qcapture Pro software. That dongle is probably a 32-bit device, and would have to be replaced (along with the driver files) to work in Windows x64. That means that the two major applications that I would like to run in a 64-bit mode, I can't, and may not be able to for a long time to come.

As I email all of these companies to inquire about 64-bit driver (and dongle) availability, I am slowly coming to the realization that 64-bit Windows computing is still a thing of the future. The CPUs have been out for almost a year and a half, and there still isn't enough support to make the transition practical for most users. The transition will be downright impossible for users of most high-end imaging equipment and applications.

Remember, if you finally get a hold of all the 64-bit drivers 6 months from now, you'll have to either format your hard drive and start over, or add another hard drive and set up a dual-boot system.

Oh well, it seemed like a nice idea at the time. I guess I'll be doing the dual-boot thing, and playing a few games in 64-bit when they come out, but doing high-end content creation in 32-bit mode. That's Windows for ya!

                                    Dr. John

May 28th

Windows XP Pro x64 Edition is Worthless

Microsoft has it's upgrade program in place, and after you go to the web site to register for your free upgrade to Windows x64, you will be greatly dismayed at the news. First off, they will tell you the bad news. In order to install x64, you will... are you ready? Yes, you will have to reformat your hard drive and start all over. Bye bye all that work in getting your applications, email and games set up and patched. Bye bye to those endless hours of setting Windows up the way you like it. That in itself is going to make the upgrade absolutely worthless for the vast majority of Windows users. You can try to use the backup feature, and then try to restore everything, but that is a very limited solution that leaves much to be desired.

Of course then there is also the little part about having to have 64-bit drivers for everything in or connected to your computer before you even start.

So instead of this being a 35 minute upgrade, we are talking anywhere from an entire day, to several days, depending on how much stuff is installed on your computer.

Microsoft sat on Windows x64 for a year and a half, waiting for Intel to finally release 64-bit processors. And during all that time they couldn't figure out how to make this upgrade to Windows install like an upgrade. In fact, it is an upgrade in name only. It is a backward-incompatible version of Windows due to the 64-bit drivers, and therefore is actually a stand-alone and entirely new version of Windows that must be installed on a freshly formatted hard drive. Get it? It's not an upgrade.

I just spent two weeks getting a new Athlon FX55 64-bit computer with SLI graphics set up, and there is no way in hell I'm going to toss all that work in the garbage, and start the long hunt for 64-bit drivers for everything I've got in the system (which includes Adaptec U320 SCSI, which may or may not have 64-bit drivers available). The thought of installing and patching all that software, and all those games all over again makes me queasy.

For all practical purposes, only those people with just a few games on their hard drive and no special hardware will bother to go through this incredible hassle to get a 64-bit operating system up and running. But most games won't be able to take advantage of the 64-bit computing power, so it's a waste of time anyway.

Microsoft really blew it again. But I guess since it's a "free upgrade", you can't complain about the price. You can also buy the OEM version of x64 from places like NewEgg for around $155.

                                    Dr. John

May 24th

Physics Processing Cards

AEGIA is a company that is single-handedly trying to bring physics processing units to gameplay on PCs. They were able to show off relatively primitive demos using their PhysX PPU at the E3 show this year, and were able to process over 6000 onscreen objects interacting. They claim they will be able to push this to between 30,000 and 50,000 after math unit timing issues are resolved.

The initial cards will probably be produced by Asus, and will cost between $250 and $300. Rumors are that they will be available by the end of 2005, and initially will fit in a standard PCI slot. But the bottom line here is that you won't be seeing any PPU cards for at least 6 months, maybe longer. Then we have to wait for games to come out that can recognize and use the new PPU cards (for example, the Unreal 3 engine will work with PhysX cards). So chances are that you won't actually need a new PPU card until early next Spring, which is basically about a year away.

                                    Dr. John

May 23rd

Dual-Core Opteron Prices Too High

AMD has been delivering new high-end processors faster than Intel for some time now, and with the introduction later this week of the dual-core Opteron, that trend will continue. But any look at the prices on web sites offering pre-ordering of the dual-core 940-pin chips shows some stratospheric pricing on AMD's part. Obviously, the 940-pin models are more for servers than for desktops, but nonetheless, many folks who bought Opteron or Athlon FX systems early on have 940-pin motherboards that will take a dual-core chip after a BIOS update. Windows XP will recognize the dual processors on the fly.

However, based on a quick look around the web, you can expect to pay over $800 for the lowly 1.8GHz model (#265), over $1000 for the 2GHz model (#270) and over $1300 for the 2.2GHz model (#275).  That's a pile of beans to be sure. Expect prices on the Athlon64 versions to be substantially lower at debut, which should be sometime in late Summer. 

AMD is trying to recoup some of the R&D costs by starting with the server models at high prices, and then introducing the more affordable desktop models several months later. I'll be picking up one of the 2.2GHz models when they debut, and will attempt to install it into my Opteron/FX system here (Asus SK8N). I'll post here on the success or failure of the endeavor, and if it works, I'll post some benchmarks.

                                    Dr. John

May 12th

Monopolist Microsoft Seeks to Change Antitrust Laws

As reported in the Washington Post and at the Inquirer today, Microsoft is fighting hard to change antitrust laws in the US to exclude technology companies. How convenient. All those bastards in the oil and telecommunications industries can go take a flying leap, whereas Microsoft is so special, they should be allowed to do whatever they want. Remind you of a spoiled child? That's Bill for you.

Under the Republican-controlled congress, a new commission has been set up called (as you might expect from this business-loving, public-hating group of politicians) "The Antitrust Modernization Commission". Also as you might expect, many of the commissioners have represented Microsoft in court in the past. So much for independence.

Perhaps next the new commission can strike down some of those old, nasty telecommunications antitrust laws too. You know how big media giants hate those.

Isn't it nice when the government is controlled only by the party that loves businesses and foreign wars, but doesn't care much for the troops, or all those pesky citizens?

                                     Dr. John

May 10th

Dual Core (X2) Athlon-64 in June?

Scott at The TechReport has a nice article on the upcoming X2 processors from AMD. They will fit into many existing socket-939 motherboards with a BIOS update (check your motherboard model for compatibility). According to Scott, the 4800+ (2 cores @ 2.4GHz/1GB cache) offers the best performance all round from any processor that he has tested. So if you're in the market for a new system, you might want to wait a month or two and get a single-CPU dual-core AMD system. Poor Intel, they just can't keep up.

                                     Dr. John

Hack Attack Compromises Government Computers

Last year a hacker gained admittance to a Cisco Systems network and grabbed programming instructions on how Cisco routers control information flow on the Internet. They gained access to Cisco's network using a Trojan horse, where they were able to steal log-on information. This theft allowed them to gain root access, and steal the programming information. From there, the attacker was able to gain access to several government systems, including research laboratory systems on the "TeraGrid". Some of the compromised systems included those at University of Minnesota, UC Berkley, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, the White Sands Missile Range and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Authorities have arrested a 16 year old from Sweden in connection with the break-ins.

So much for homeland cyerbersecurity.

                                      Dr. John

May 9th

Birth of Black Hole Recorded

Observatories around the world recorded what is thought to have been the creation of a black hole during the collision between two orbiting neutron stars. The gamma-ray burst recorded today originated 2.2 billion light years away, indicating that the collision occurred that long ago, and the EM radiation just reached earth. While this is still speculative, experts believe that there is a good possibility that the birth of a black hole was recorded.

                                       Dr. John