August 25, 1997
The Waiting Game
By Bob O'Donnell
At last, the wait is over. Or is it?
This week marks the debut of Intel's long-awaited 440LX chip set for Pentium II-based
computers, and with it, the latest "next generation" of computing devices. Dell,
Micron, Gateway, and others are all expected to have a rash of new systems, complete with
all the latest technologies, based on 440LX-equipped motherboards.
In fact, in a strange reversal of roles, the chip set instead of the CPU has been at
the center of power-users' attention for the past few months. When Intel introduced the
Pentium II processor back in May, a great deal of attention was paid to the CPU's
capabilities, as you might expect. But a number of analysts and reviewers pointed out that
the first Pentium II-based systems were somewhat hobbled by the much older 440FX chip set
that system vendors were forced to use in them. The 440FX, which was originally designed
for use with Pentium Pro-based computers, lacks support for a number of important system
technologies, including synchronous DRAM and the UltraDMA hard-disk interface.
As a result, patient power-users (is that an oxymoron?) awaited the arrival of the
440LX, which addresses the 440FX's limitations and adds support for the widely hyped and
anticipated Advanced Graphics Port, or AGP, video bus. Now that the LX is here, power
users will be clamoring to get their hands on the first "real" Pentium II
systems.
Or will they?
In a move designed to keep important customers and the industry at large up to date on
its product plans -- but which may have other implications as well -- Intel recently
released a time line of new processor, chip set, and overall system-performance
enhancements that it expects to unveil in the next two years or so. Prominent among the
new developments was the announcement of support for a 100-MHz system bus in early 1998.
This is a move that's been anticipated by the power-hungry technical crowd for some time
and is bound to improve overall system performance a good deal.
Couple that with early reports that AGP
may not be everything that it was initially cracked up to be, and all of a sudden the
once-clear picture of when to buy a system that's going to have some real staying power
gets cloudy. And so the question once again arises: Should I wait some more?
Of course, this problem is not a new one; it surfaces virtually every time an important
technology is introduced. It seems that just before the long-awaited development first
described last year becomes available, we get a glimpse over the next hill and are
inevitably tempted by what's coming next. The sad truth is, this is a never-ending cycle,
and we can never win. And although it's certainly been said before, I think it bears
repeating: There's no time like the present to jump in.
Ideally, you want to time your computer-buying entry to coincide with the crest of one
of the technological waves that continuously drives the computer industry's development.
That way, you can enjoy the ride for as long as possible. It seems to me that these crests
are getting closer and closer together, however, so it's becoming increasingly hard to
time your "ride." Ultimately, if your purchases aren't predetermined by
budgetary time lines, the decision boils down to your interpretation of what the next
important wave really is. And, of course, how long you're willing to wait.
©
Copyright 1997, by InfoWorld Publishing Corp., a
subsidiary of IDG Communications, Inc. Reprinted from InfoWorld,
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