"Windows 2000 will require 250 MHz extra power"

By Paul Swart

Are IT managers ready to upgrade themselves back to the high-tech Stone Ages? They will if they plan to implement Windows 2000 on their existing hardware, as Windows 2000 will cause a giant leap backward in desktop and server performance! Says who?

Says Pat Gelsinger, vice president of Intel's Desktop Products Group! Totally unaware of the implication of what he was saying, Gelsinger told the audience at the Intel Developer Conference that Intel’s own researchers have found that computers running Windows 2000 would require about 250 MHz more power to deliver the same level of processing performance as current desktops and servers.

So installing Windows 2000 on a spiffy 450 MHz machine will give the user the equivalent performance of a 200 MHz computer. And, that is not a lot. Matching the performance of that 450 MHz desktop would require buying a 700 MHz computer and at that point you’re not one Hertz ahead of where you started. Gelsinger was busy explaining why critics are wrong when they say that consumers don’t need 1 Gigahertz and up PCs. So Gelsinger pulled out a seemingly convincing argument, one based on Intel’s own laboratory research.

But the implications are huge. It has long been known that Windows 2000 would boost sales of more powerful computers. But a power difference of 250 MHz, just to stay even, is enormous. Four years ago there weren’t any processors that fast. An estimated 85 per cent of all computers are running on chips of less than 400 MHz. And, less than 0.1 per cent run faster than 600 MHz. That means virtually all NT-based computers will need to be upgraded to state-of-the-art 700MHz or better, in order for companies to achieve any productivity benefits from Windows 2000.

That fact may well sink any chances of Windows 2000 to see broad adoption. Those who implement Windows 2000 with validating either compatibility or performance of key applications are in for a nightmare.