Windows 7 Gets Optimized For Intel Chips
Posted 07/26/09 at 04:05:45 PM by Justin Kerr
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Writing an operating system is no easy task, particularly for Microsoft. Having to design a piece of software that will maintain compatibility across a nearly infinite number of hardware configurations can be a daunting mission. It becomes even more difficult when hardware manufacturers implement new technologies, but the software lags behind.
Determined to not let that happen to Windows 7, Microsoft engineers have reportedly worked side by side with Intel to optimize support for its processors. In a posting made on the new Windows 7 partner blog, Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc highlights the results of the collaboration. “Working with Intel, Microsoft implemented a new feature called SMT parking, which provided additional support for the Windows 7 scheduler for Intel Hyper-threading Technology, enabling better performance on hyper-threaded, multi-core Intel processors.”Intel and Microsoft have also been working on optimizing boot/ shutdown/ sleep/ and resume times, which could end up giving the chipmaker a substantial edge in performance for the foreseeable future.
Intel’s rival Nvidia also posted a follow up on the partner blog outlining GPGPU functions in Windows 7, and encouraged upgraders to spring for dedicated graphics cards. Ultimately the Intel announcement is more interesting since the DX Compute found in DirectX 11 will favor both ATI and Nvidia equally and it certainly makes me worry about the growing performance gap between Intel and AMD.
Will this announcement influence your upgrade decision?
Edit: Brandon LeBlanc works for Microsoft, not Intel.
AMD Fanboys need to stop with the wineing
Submitted by Gary1847 on Sun, 09/20/2009 - 9:50am
Let's harkin back to the early days of computing, when the Intel 386 chip was selling so fast that Intel could not keep up. Intel went to a small calculator chip company, jointly signed a contract to manufacture 386 chips for them, this was at first a good deal for AMD, but when the 486 chip was developed, Intel did not need the extra capacity so AMD was not given the 486 to manufacture, which is normal and above board business practice. However, AMD decided to reverse enginere the 486 chip using the microcode from the 386 chip as a road map. What did you say? Did AMD steal the design of the 486 chip? You betcha, and of corse, Intel sued AMD and won a judgement against AMD which made it vertualy impossibly to use ANY design concepts they learned from the manufacture of Intel 386 chips, so if your wondering why AMD is always 3 steps behind Intel, it's not some great consperacy on the part of Intel, AMD litteraly shot themselves in the foot low these many years ago.
Submitted by mesiah on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 11:35pm
Good lord people, calm down. Why is it that everyone on the internet is just looking for a sensationalist story to jump on and cry about? First, do you seriously think that MS and intel get in a room together and lock the door and design a new OS? MS works with alot of major hardware vendors including AMD to optimize for their technology. For all you 3 year olds crying that this isn't fair, its absolutely fair and it absolutely should happen as much as possible. We want our software companies working with our hardware companies to squeeze as much performance as possible out of their products. If you are trying to optimize a new OS, the best people to learn from are the ones that designed the hardware you are optimizing for. Everyone saying that this kind of thing shouldn't happen obviously can't see past their hate for intel far enough to realise that this is how the industry works. Intel works with MS to push their new technology, so does AMD and every other major tech manufacturer. Unfortunately, since the story comes from an Intel employee plugging their company it doesn't mention microsofts cooperation with other companies. But something tells me if this article was about MS working with realtek on better audio support or marvell on sata3 there wouldn't be an uproar. But every time Intel, microsoft, Mcdonalds, or wal-mart make any headlines on trying to improve anything in some way its "I'll bring the torches, you grab some pitchforks!" because here in america all we want to do is Hate the big guy and cheer for the little guy.
Submitted by Cregan89 on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 6:23am
No where in this article, did it say that Microsoft "didn't optimize for AMD". Just that Microsoft added code to their software to take advantage of a hardware feature offered by Intel. It would be ridiculous of Microsoft not to optimize their software to take advantage of these hardware features. There's tones of AMD features that Microsoft optimizes for too, they just aren't talked about in this article. All you fanboi's whining about "Microsoft and Intel are anti-competitive!" just because the brand of a product you fap to every night is losing market share to their competitor because their products are just simply better need to calm down and stop complaining just to make themselves heard.
Again, no where in this article did Microsoft say that they optimize for Intel, but don't optimize for AMD too. All Microsoft said was that they took advantage of a hardware feature that Intel offers but AMD does not. Stop trying to make the situation sound bad when it in no way is.
exactly. Ass this says is
Submitted by nekollx on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 8:27am
exactly. Ass this says is "we havent had time to deal with all the architectural changes that are Core iSystem, now we have."
Their nothing to state "AMD is old so we already optimized for it"
or
"suck it AMD"
stop drinking the kool-aim AMD fanbois
------------------------------
Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
Submitted by TechJunkie on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 9:59am
I bet your a liberal.
Yes I am a liberal. Got a
Submitted by Carlidan on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 10:06pm
Yes I am a liberal. Got a problem with that?
“Animals, whom we have made our slaves, we do not like to consider our equal.”
I guess I did jump on the
Submitted by DBsantos77 on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 8:39am
I guess I did jump on the anti-intel bandwagon a bit too early, I apologize :)
Submitted by MeTo on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 5:03am
What do you exspect. Why do you think people came up with the term Wintel? Favoritism has been going on for years. And anybody that denies it is clueless.
Submitted by kevaskous on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 3:48am
You realize these optimizations are for the SSE code set right....this is nothing new for Windows or ANY OTHER SOFTWARE, INCLUDING MAC, to do. therefore, if AMD implements the the same SSE code support, they get them same boosts, jeezous fanboi's cry when they don't get their way, EVEN IF THEY REALLY DO.
Submitted by TechJunkie on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 4:26am
No where does it state it is only for SSE code set, this article or any other. So do everyone a favor and READ before you post.
Submitted by TechJunkie on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 4:28am
sorry quadriple post.....i clicked post ONCe and it went haywire...is this site optimized for intel??
Submitted by TechJunkie on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 4:30am
dupe post
Submitted by TechJunkie on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 4:31am
dupe post
Submitted by TechJunkie on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 4:33am
dupe post
Submitted by TechJunkie on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 3:11am
This IS absolutley disgusting. This right here is the opitome of anti-competitivness and greed if I ever saw it. There is no need for microshaft to be biased towards any vendor as they should be nuetral. I'm personally not a fanboi of either AMD nor Intel because I use both platforms and I choose what I buy based on budget, not benchmarks. so for me really, this is a mute point, but it is still the principle of greed.
Submitted by Carlidan on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 10:08pm
Thought your party line is greed is good?
“Animals, whom we have made our slaves, we do not like to consider our equal.”
always yesterday news.
Submitted by Sina on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 2:57am
always yesterday news.
Well darn, I just built my
Submitted by doomgrunt on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 7:35pm
Well darn, I just built my first pc with a Phenom II x4 955. I had hopes that AMD would provide a promising upgrade path. With AMD gaining a little ground with their Phenom II x4's I thought that they might make somewhat of a comeback. It's dissapointing that this will only lengthen the margin between Intel and AMD performance.
Submitted by TechJunkie on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 2:26am
It only has a performance gap because Microshaft decided to optimize its code for Intel instead of it leaving it well enough alone. This is just pure greed on both Microshaft and Insmell's part. Insmell fanboi's don't realize is that if AMD gets hurt by this and goes under, that prices for procs, mobo's, GPU's, etc, will double in cost. Then these same Insmell fanboi's will be screaming that they can't afford that shiney new rig sportin an i8. No wonder Microshaft and Insmell get lawsuits thrown thier way all the time. It's because of this crap.
See below. This is just an
Submitted by TheMurph on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 10:16pm
See below. This is just an Intel person grandstanding on the Microsoft blog. Nothing to sound warning bells about. :b
Submitted by TechJunkie on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 2:13am
The comment below mentions nothing about anything inside win 7 being remotely optimized for AMD, just that it will be compatible. Plus, I see the edit that it was a microsoft employee that stated this article. I hope, for god's sake, Microshaft and Insmell get's slapped with anit-trust and anti-competitive lawsuits.
Submitted by Nipyf2 on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 6:05pm
I'd like to know what part of the market share uses core i7. Why does AMD need to have a proc that is above the price range of most of the market? They are a company for budget users and I think this will not change that they have a better price to performance ratio.
Submitted by DBsantos77 on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 6:18pm
Agreed.
Submitted by colinjm0517 on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 5:26pm
Is it just me or did Windows 7 copy Snow Leopard? Grand Central splits up the single threads into multi core, and OpenCL handles the GPGPU loads. I love PCs and Macs equally, but Microsoft and Apple should not copy each other. But also, Hopefully Windows 7 (the final build not the build I'm currently using) will help PCs be as fast as Macs.
Windows 7 is the King of all OSes
Copying one another,
Submitted by n0ctis on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 7:14pm
Copying one another, improving on copped tech and developing better things from it is a natural progression for innovation.
________________________________________________________________
.: vires et honos :.
My choice was already made
Submitted by Baer on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 5:14pm
I am soooo happy with my OCed i7 920 and Win 7 RC that all of our computers will be i7 and Win 7 by the end of the year. The fact is that the combo runs amazingly well. I am not going to do the proverbial cut off my noze Etc.
This article changes nothing about the great performance.
I'm just downright disgusted.
Submitted by Stry8993 on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 4:49pm
I was saving up money for the new Core i7 975 Extreme, gonna go all out... but, this is just low. LOW LOW LOW. I'm absolutely disgusted by this. Now, I've used Windows 7's Beta on a Laptop with an Athlon X2 Processor, and performance was better than XP. So, I guess I'll wait until November, go with an AM3 Phenom 2 X8 when they're released.
Very disapointed in Intel. Way way disgusted.
Submitted by colinjm0517 on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 5:28pm
Hey, This should be a performance increase for both Intel and AMD processors, since they share arcitectures.
Windows 7 is the King of all OSes
Submitted by foamcup on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 4:04pm
I'm partial to Intel, but I was thinking of AMD for my next box, maybe I'll stick with Intel. Have to wait and see.
Submitted by Spider-Mom on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 3:45pm
Where are the benchmarks? This tech remains to be assumed buggy until proven useful.
Submitted by TheMurph on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 3:20pm
For you AMD fans, here's what Microsoft and AMD had to say about their hand-holding:
"Microsoft is a valued AMD technology partner and we are confident that our outstanding collaboration in the development of Windows 7 will provide a dynamic, visually rich computing experience and superior value, both for business needs and for consumers," said Bob Grim, director, client product marketing, AMD. "The AMD-Microsoft collaboration is resulting in the development of unprecedentedly tight integration of hardware and software solutions in Windows 7. This results in a superior and simple user experience for customers."
--and--
"AMD continues to be a great industry partner and we are very happy to work with them to deliver great premium experiences for our mutual customers. With technology such as DirectX 11 graphics cards, AMD understands PC users' needs by providing a dynamic entertainment experience," said Mike Ybarra, General Manager, Windows Product Management, Microsoft Corp. "Because we worked closely with AMD in the development and test process of Windows 7, users running Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional on an AMD-based platform can experience a rich, fast computing experience."
Source: http://gadgets.softpedia.com/news/AMD-Announce-Windows-7-Oriented-Devices-4104-01.html
Submitted by DBsantos77 on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 4:03pm
Thanks!
ATi/Nvidia
Submitted by Cooketh on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 2:47pm
I for one am just happy that the playing field between ATi and Nvidia is being leveled. It bugs me when I build an ATi based system that's stronger than an Nvidia based system but I get similar or worse results because of the developer's BS and the random exclusive support Nvidia gets.
Submitted by Asterixx on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 2:46pm
Nunc est bibendum!
I'm planning on buying a new midrange laptop (in the $800-$1000 CDN range) this fall to replace this ancient Gateway, and I'll probably go with an Intel chip this time around (the Gateway has an Athlon 64 4000+ chip). I was planning on doing so anyway, simply because I've read more good things about the Core2 Duo than I have of the Turion, but this new announcement is justifying my decision even more. I know, the Core i7 is even better than the Core2, but it's also outside my target price range.
Submitted by DBsantos77 on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 1:55pm
What about AMD? I think AMD deserves a fair share of the optimization process don't they? Less competition, higher prices, which is probably both of their goals anyways.
Submitted by Cooketh on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 2:58pm
I think this comes down to performance gap. If AMD truly wants a fair share of the action then they have to compete on a competant level. The only reason AMD chips can even compete is because of their insanely low prices. But all the latest AMD chips can't even compete head to head with Core 2 Quads.
If AMD had the performance margin against Intel that they had back in the Pentium 4 vs. Athlon days, then I'd see this decision by Microsoft to be anti-competitive. But Intel changed the way they made chips after the disaster of P4, and AMD hasn't been able to keep up with it.
There just isn't an AMD processor that can compete (performance wise) with an equivilant Core 2 processor.
And now the i7 is coming and Msoft is optimizing their system to give performance boosts with a brand that's supported and used by a giant majority of the market, gives the best performance, and is making new innovations in chip design before their competitor. You may see it as unfair, but I see it as realistic. If AMD had that kind of performance gap over Intel, then everyone in this thread would probably be on a Phenom right now.
Submitted by TechJunkie on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 2:41am
No, it's simply anti-competitive. More intel users = more win 7 sales because of this. It's pure greed. it's kinda like getting something for free if you go this route. Ya know, kinda like a congressman getting a kickback from a lobbyist to vote a certain way. PURE GREED!
Submitted by DBsantos77 on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 4:02pm
Makes sense, I agree.
Submitted by hbodek on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 3:09pm
You don't know the definition of Capitalism, do you? I can completely understand why Microsoft and Intel would want to do this, I can clearly see why it is good for both of them, but I do not see how this is in any way, shape or form a good thing for consumers.
"Deserves a fair share"?
Submitted by Cache on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 2:39pm
"Deserves a fair share"? Are you new to capitalism? Bottom line is that MS wanted to optimize it's OS, and it merely chose the industry leader to work with. Marginal companies--even one as large as AMD (whose finances are rocky and future still uncertain)--can keep their niche markets, it just means they will run a little slower than a comparable Intel chip. But come on, isn't AMD used to following behind the last several years anyways?
Submitted by j_park84 on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 2:00pm
"Windows 7 optimized for Core i7" does have a nice ring to it.
Then they're gonna blab on about 8 cores, then 12 cores.
Good for Intel, S939 pissed in their sandbox. I'm crap deep in Intel and Nvidia right now so if the companies were to merge, (they won't, because they don't need each other) it'd be crazy to watch them try to outdo AMD/ATI (Also known as AMD).
Submitted by DBsantos77 on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 2:03pm
Doesn't matter if it has a nice ring to it, it should be fair game. Also, since when is Intel in bed with Microsoft anyways? All I'm saying is that Microsoft shouldn't be playing "Favorites" and helping one more the other.
Submitted by comptech08 on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 2:19pm
I don't know, I think they can play favorites all they want, but since the way our society works it does sound fishy. But all companies sometimes recommend other products that will work better along side theirs. But will it really work better with an intel chip? Who knows I bet its just a gimmick and works the same on both.
Submitted by DBsantos77 on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 2:23pm
Possibly a marketing strategy of some sort? I honestly can careless if an I7 PC boots 5-10 seconds faster then an older PC.
Submitted by Nastyman on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 1:53pm
This is the dumbest thing that Microsoft can do. It automatically made my decision to NOT upgrade to Win 7 as I have a brand new AMD system. So, XP it is for now and the future...thank you Microsoft for saving me 320 bucks!
Nasty
Submitted by Phoenix. on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 4:55pm
Do you realize just how ignorant that makes you sound?
"Microsoft added a little support to intel so I wont upgrade my OS because they didn't pick my favorite."
I hate to break the news to you but XP isn't optimized for any new processor, so have fun utilizing a 9 year old OS that hasn't changed much while the world around it has, because you're upset that Intel optimized it's new OS for the majority of people's processors.
Submitted by TechJunkie on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 2:51am
it has nothing to do about picking a favorite. It does have everything to do about being FAIR. Microshaft's OS's should be unbiased towards all hardware whether it's AMD, Intel, nvidia, ATI, and so forth. let the vendors, with it's OWN optimized code and drivers do the talking for it's hardware. Microshaft has no business playing favorites.
So your comment is even more ignorant than his.
Is this stuff already in the
Submitted by Pentium 0 on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 1:25pm
Is this stuff already in the RC?
Submitted by damicatz on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 5:03pm
I haven't had a computer with an Intel processor in 16 years and I don't intend to start now.
Submitted by Baer on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 5:18pm
There is a performance hit to being a fanboi, not always but being an AMD fanboi right now means you have w wimpier computer, cheaper yes but less capabile.
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