MaximumPC 2005 05

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2004 MA XIM 13 UMPC

Multicore

Madness

Tom Halfhill was formerly a senior editor for Byte magazine and

is now an analyst for Microprocessor Report.

FAST FORWARD BY TOM R. HALFHILL

Quick Start

MAY 2005 MA XIMUMPC 13

64-Bit Windows

Arrives

Here’s what it’ll take to

make the switch

WinFS File System

Coming to XP

It’s not just for Longhorn anymore

M

icrosoft’s innovative new data-

base-driven file system—named

Windows Future Storage, or WinFS

for short—was originally slated to appear

exclusively in the Longhorn version of

Windows. That is, until Redmond uncer-

emoniously announced that WinFS would

not ship with the next-gen OS, causing

industry tongues to wag about whether

the file system was being canned altogether or simply delayed. As it turns

out, not only is WinFS still in the works, but it’s going to be back-ported to

Windows XP, according to news reports circulating on the Internet.

The news comes as a surprise to XP users, who assumed Microsoft would

use the allure of WinFS to entice people to upgrade when Longhorn ships.

Microsoft’s change in tack is likely a bid to ensure the highest possible rate

of adoption for its new technology.

WinFS’ database-driven design makes it possible to continuously index

all the files on a hard drive. In turn, this makes it easy to obtain instanta-

neous, context-sensitive search results of all the files on a PC, and even on

multiple PCs connected over a network. With this anxiously awaited fea-

ture coming to XP at some indeterminate time in the future, Microsoft will

have to work extra hard to convince XP users that an upgrade to Longhorn

is worth the cost and the trouble.

Folks using XP Home Edition

must first upgrade to XP

Professional before they can

download the 64-bit version.

I

t’s hard enough explaining the differences

between multitasking, multiprocessing, multi-

threading, Hyper-Threading, single-core processors,

multicore processors, and multiprocessor systems.

Now Intel comes along and throws us another curve

ball by announcing multicore processors that are

actually multichip modules.

Intel recently announced a bunch of multicore

processors with typically obscure code-names.

Smithfield, officially christened Pentium D, has two

Pentium 4-class processor cores on a single die. It’s

a true multicore processor. But when Intel moves to

the next-generation 65-nanometer chip-fabrication

process, the company will introduce a new desktop

processor code-named Presler that encloses two die

in one chip package. Presler will look like a multi-

core processor to the operating system, but inside,

it will actually have only one core per die. That’s not

quite a true multicore processor.

There’s a common term for a processor like

Presler: multichip module (MCM). An MCM is simply

a chip package containing two or more die. Old-tim-

ers might recall that Intel’s Pentium Pro, introduced

in 1995, was also an MCM. It enclosed a processor

chip and an SRAM chip in a single package. The

SRAM was an external L2 cache, because in those

days it was too expensive to integrate a large L

cache on the same die with the processor. But today,

it’s obviously not too expensive to integrate two

processor cores on a single die. So why is Presler

seemingly taking a step backward?

First answer: economy. The 65nm process shrink

will dramatically reduce Intel’s manufacturing cost

for a single-core chip. MCMs are more expensive

to produce, but Intel has made some advances in

this technology since the Pentium Pro. Therefore, it

will be cheaper for Intel to stuff two Presler-class

dies into a single package than to make a dual-core

Presler-class die, even with the additional cost of

the MCM package.

Second answer: flexibility. By designing Presler

with one core per die, Intel can make a lower-

priced Celeron version of Presler with only one die

per package. This would be even better for Intel,

because the company wouldn’t have to disable part

of Presler’s L2 cache to make a lower-end processor

(as Intel does today with Celeron), and the single-die

package would eliminate the extra cost of the MCM.

So Intel’s multicore strategy certainly makes

sense. And most people will call Presler a multicore

processor without ever knowing the difference.

The Windows Future

Storage file system allows

for contextual searches of

indexed files, and displays

contextual pop-ups for files

upon mouse-over.

B

y the time you read this, the
long-awaited 64-bit version
of Windows XP Professional
(dubbed XP Professional x64) should
be available. Whether or not you’ll
be able to upgrade to it, and give up
your 32-bit XP license in the process,
depends on several factors.
According to a Microsoft spokes-
man, the company intends to deliver
the 64-bit Windows to existing users
via a technology exchange program
that will allow consumers to trade
their 32-bit Windows XP licenses
for free 64-bit Windows XP licenses.
Here’s the first in a long list of catches:
You can only upgrade from Windows
XP Professional Edition—if you own
Windows XP Home Edition, you’ll
have to first upgrade to XP Pro and
then trade it for an x64 license.
Microsoft has no plans to offer XP Pro

x64 as a stand-alone retail product.

If you own a personal copy of

Windows XP Professional—i.e., it

wasn’t preinstalled on a PC you

bought—you can go online, authen-

ticate it, and download x64 just like

a service pack.

If you acquired your copy of

Windows XP Professional when you

bought your PC—say, from Dell or

HP—your upgrade path is through

that OEM, and you’ll need to check

with the manufacturer to determine

whether it’s participating in the

upgrade program. If you’re still using

Windows 98 or ME, whether you

bought the OS at retail or it came with

your PC, you’re screwed. The only

remaining way to get XP Professional

x64 will be to purchase it preinstalled

on a new PC.