Windows NT 3.5 has inspired a diverse collection of midrange workstations based on Pentium, Mips, and Alpha CPUs. BYTE tests seven of the fastest.
Steve Apiki and Rick Grehan
The talk among operating system illuminati is that Microsoft did it right with Windows NT 3.5 (a.k.a. Daytona). NT 3.5 delivers major networking enhancements as well as under-the-covers performance improvements (see the November 1994 BYTE, ``Exploring Chicago and Daytona.'') More important, anticipation of NT 3.5 has added significant momentum to the cross-platform movement NT 3.1 started. Here we have a mature 32-bit operating system that can run on systems housing one or more Intel, Mips, Alpha, or PowerPC processors.
Unix can claim a larger collection of processors only if you're willing to ignore the variation among Unix speci
es. Meanwhile, NT on a Pentium is indistinguishable from NT on a Mips, which is indistinguishable from NT on an Alpha, which is indistinguishable from NT on a PowerPC. What's more, NT 3.5 has created a powerful downdraft that pulls RISC technology from pricey workstation heights closer to an affordable desktop system level.
Here we look at some of this NT diversity, testing
seven of the most promising workstations
from the three processor families (Intel, Mips, and Alpha) that were running NT at the beginning of the year. We also check out a PowerPC reference system (see ``PowerPC: Late to the Party''). NT should be available for PowerPC systems from IBM and Motorola soon after you read this.
Our test group included a trio of Alpha machines--a 275-MHz Action AXP275 from BTG, a 233-MHz DEC AlphaStation 400, and a 289-MHz Mach 2-289-T from NekoTech; a dual-processor 150-MHz Mips RISCstation 2000 from NEC and a uniprocessor 200-MHz Mips Fastseries MP from Netpower; and two dual-
processor 90-MHz Pentium boxes--a TD-4 from Intergraph and a Dual-590EP2 from Polywell Computers. Processor speeds ranged from 90 MHz for the Pentium systems (though don't forget, both were dual-CPU boxes) to a cranking 289 MHz for the NekoTech system (with a single Alpha 21064 chip).
In spite of the CPU variety, we established some hardware equality by requesting a set workstation (not server) configuration. Every system came with 64 MB of RAM (except the DEC AlphaStation with 96 MB). All had a 1-GB SCSI hard disk drive and display hardware capable of at least 1024- by 768-pixel resolution in 256 colors--most had pixel area and color depth well in excess of that. In fact, the high-end graphics card in Intergraph's TD-4 operates only in 24-bit mode. All except the TD-4 came with a 17-inch display.
Hard drive and especially graphics systems are important for workstation performance. But with the commonality of built-in SCSI-2 and standard PC expansion slots (ISA, EISA, and particularly PCI [Perip
heral Component Interconnect]), it doesn't take too much more than new device drivers to move graphics and storage components from one NT platform to another. With the exception of the TD-4's graphics card, it's processor architecture that raises big performance questions. To make sense of this ongoing CPU melee, BYTE pulled together a mixture of benchmark tests and ran each system down the digital gauntlet.
Benchmark Rollout
NT 3.5 comes in both Server and Workstation editions. Viewing our test machines as heirs apparent to the desktop, we used only the workstation version for testing. Our benchmark arsenal included a variety of synthetic and application tests. BYTE's new cross-platform Native Mode benchmarks, based on algorithms commonly employed by standard office applications, spearheaded BYTE's platform- and operating-system-independent
benchmark suite
.
Also platform-independent, NSTL's new NT-based InterMark tests provide comprehensive analysi
s that exercises a system's primary hardware components: processor, video, hard disk, and CD-ROM. InterMark can also test other peripherals (e.g., printers), though we didn't use those components in this review. (See ``BYTE's New Benchmarks'' for a more complete description of BYTE's Native Mode benchmarks and the InterMark.)
The PhotoMorph 2.0 multimedia image processing package from North Coast Software, Inc., leads our contingent of application tests. PhotoMorph served us well for two reasons: It runs on all the NT processor platforms (including PowerPC), and some key PhotoMorph functions take advantage of multiprocessor systems. Our PhotoMorph test is a ``swirl'' distortion that creates a 2.5-MB AVI (Audio Video Interleave) file. This particular image processing operation--the image looks like it's going down a whirlpool--is floating-point intensive and multiprocessor aware.
The remaining pair of packages in our applications tests are Micrografx's Picture Publisher 4.0, an image processing p
rogram, and Bentley Systems' MicroStation version 5.00.23, a CAD package. Both are driven by Microsoft Test scripts developed by NSTL. The Picture Publisher tests run several images through all the image processing effects available from the effects browser. Thus, the images are ground through a total of 22 processes that include blurring, distorting, and sharpening, as well as various ``artistic'' effects. The MicroStation tests load and render several CAD images (ranging from a 26-KB bridge to a 2-MB diesel locomotive), then perform hidden line removal and 3-D antialiasing operations.
We ran the InterMark tests in 8-bit color depth only, except with the Intergraph TD-4, which supports only 24-bit color. We ran other graphics-intensive tests in both 8-bit and 24-bit color modes for those platforms that supported both, so you can see the effects of pixel depth on graphically intensive operations. (PhotoMorph, though an image processing application, is processor-dependent; its performance was independen
t of color depth.)
Unfortunately, the version of InterMark we used was new and unable to execute on the two Mips machines. Also, at the time of our testing, MicroStation was unavailable for Mips NT systems.
BTG Action AXP275 RISC PC
Of the seven workstations in this review, this Alpha-based system strikes the best balance between cutting-edge technology and mainstream pricing. The Action AXP275 finished a close second on our performance tests behind NekoTech's Mach 2, and it lists for $11,520 in our test configuration, making it the second least-expensive workstation we tested.
The
Action AXP275
is built around a 275-MHz 21064A Alpha on an Aspen-designed motherboard. Except for clock speed, the Action AXP275 is similar in basic design to the NekoTech Mach 2, with 2 MB of secondary cache connected to 128-bit wide system memory. The Aspen board does supply some features that the Mach 2's DEC-designed unit does not, including 3.3-V power off the boa
rd, an extended capabilities port/enhanced parallel port interface, and three EISA and three PCI slots without a shared slot. These two systems set the top two marks on processor-intensive benchmarks, with the Action AXP275 generally behind the Mach 2 proportional to the 5 percent difference in clock speeds.
Video and disk subsystems are those you might find on any high-end PC: a graphics accelerator based on S3's 64-bit Vision964 and a 1.2-GB Seagate SCSI-2 drive. While helping to keep the price down, these components actually put the Action at a disadvantage compared to the other two Alpha-based systems, which boast either specialized video (DEC) or fast disk components (NekoTech). This is evident both from InterMark results and from Picture Publisher and MicroStation application tests.
While system construction isn't quite up to the level of DEC's AlphaStation, the Action AXP275 is solidly built and mounted in a standard PC case, and it certainly didn't give us any problems during testing. To
p-shelf components like a quad-speed CD-ROM drive and an excellent 17-inch Nokia 447X flat-screen monitor round out the package.
DEC AlphaStation 400 4/233
Both the AlphaStation and the NekoTech Mach 2 are based on motherboards designed and built by DEC. However, the board in the
AlphaStation 400 4/233
(with a separate processor module) is quite different from that in the Mach 2, as the Mach 2's board is based on a different DEC reference design.
The AlphaStation's 233-MHz clock makes it the slowest among the Alpha-based systems, but it still puts the Alpha-Station well ahead of the Mips- and Pentium-based workstations we tested (we expect DEC to ship its own 275-MHz workstation this year). On BYTE's Native-Mode integer test, the AlphaStation proved itself about 25-percent faster than its nearest non-Alpha competitor, Netpower's 200-MHz R4400 machine.
Its clock speed may be less than cutting-edge, but the AlphaStation's killer 2-D/3-D accelerat
or more than makes up for this lack on graphics-intensive tasks. DEC's ZLXp-E1 graphics card put the system well out in front on the InterMark video benchmark and while running Picture Publisher. Benchmarks aside, the AlphaStation also feels the most responsive when comparing systems side by side. On the downside, the E1 version of this card handles only 8-bit color. The E2 version does 24-bit color, and the E3 adds z-buffering.
With a total price of $16,394, including 96 MB of RAM, a 17-inch monitor, and the graphics accelerator, the AlphaStation lands in the middle of the price range. This is a nicely built box with which we found few flaws. Its compact tower design mounts the CPU card and PCI add-in boards horizontally in the airflow of a large front-panel fan, keeping everything cool. If DEC can keep prices of the 275-MHz version of this system in line, it will be an outstanding NT machine.
Intergraph TD-4
Intergraph approaches the NT workstation market from an unusual
angle.
The TD-4
is no souped-up PC; it's a Pentium-powered workstation. From its specialized 3-D-accelerating graphics system and integrated Ethernet to its spacey 21-inch tube sitting atop a slimline case, the TD-4 instantly recalls machines of the Sun and Apollo genre. Unfortunately, its dual-Pentium design rarely keeps up with faster Mips and Alpha-based systems and the TD-4's pricing also owes more to the world of workstations than to that of PCs.
Intergraph's GLZ 3-D graphics system outclasses the graphics boards in the other machines. The dual-socket PCI board, outfitted with 24 MB of video memory, provides true-color images at all resolutions up to 1600 by 1280 pixels. Yes, it has 24 MB of video memory--enough to contain dual frame buffers and z-buffers with room for additional buffering. The GLZ supplies a rock-steady 76-Hz refresh rate at 1600 by 1280 pixels and is stereo capable. With Intergraph's 21-inch display, graphics performance is simply remarkable, both in speed and
image quality.
The GLZ is also an OpenGL accelerator. OpenGL was not responsible, however, for the TD-4's doing better on the MicroStation CAD application tests than on any other benchmark. The TD-4 owes that result to an Intergraph proprietary high-level graphics language called MOGL. MicroStation is one of a few packages that support MOGL-capable hardware.
Except for the MicroStation test, The TD-4's benchmark results were generally disappointing. Dual 90-MHz Pentiums, individually between one-half and one-third the speed of the fastest Alphas, kept the TD-4 well off the pace that this fast group set. But only one of our tests--the PhotoMorph application--fully exploited SMP; on that test, the TD-4 scored almost as well as the Alphas. This is, once again, a machine built for CAD. If your application writes to OpenGL and is reasonably threaded, the TD-4 will perform better than our benchmarks show.
The TD-4's high-end video subsystem, including the high-performance 21-inch display, makes
it the most expensive box we looked at--$23,150 in its test configuration. More expensive 3-D and less expensive 2-D acceleration options are available. Intergraph's G91 graphics accelerator card, for instance, would have provided similar performance on many of the tests but costs $6500 less. We'd heartily recommend this workstation for CAD or visualization applications, but it's too specialized to make a reasonable general-purpose system.
NEC RISCstation 2000
NEC's RISCstation
is among the most mature of the non-Intel NT designs, and it has consistently been a top performer in the past. This generation of the dual-R4400 system will not remain the top workstation model, however. NEC has a 200-MHz version of the RISCstation in the works that should be in the channel by mid-year. Expect PCI slots and nonproprietary graphics.
The benchmark figures show the results for the shipping 150-MHz system. BYTE's Native Mode benchmarks, which test only one process
or, rate the machine faster than only the two Pentium-based systems: the Intergraph TD-4 and the Poly Dual-590EP2. Except for the PhotoMorph application test (which uses both CPUs), other results follow suit. The PhotoMorph tests ran slightly slower on the RISCstation than on the dual-Pentiums. However, the RISCstation does beat out Netpower's single-processor 200-MHz Mips system on this test.
As a preview of the 200-MHz RISCstation to come, we also ran a few processor-intensive tasks on a 200-MHz NEC RISCserver, a dual-R4400 system similar in design at the CPU level (though drive and video options differ). The system scored BYTE integer and floating-point indexes nearly identical to those of the Netpower FAST MP and turned in a PhotoMorph rendering about 33 percent faster than the 150-MHz RISCstation (and faster than NekoTech's Alpha-powered Mach 2).
As an NEC system, the RISCstation 2000 comes with nice amenities like an NEC XE17 monitor (it was tested with an NEC 5FGe) and a triple-speed NEC
CD-ROM. But at $14,160, it's a steady but not stellar performer, and the relative lack of software available for Mips systems is a strike against it.
NekoTech Mach 2-289-T
If 275 MHz just isn't quite enough for you, you'll appreciate the 5-percent boost the 289-MHz clock on
NekoTech's Mach 2
generates. Otherwise, goosing the 275-MHz-rated Alpha in the Mach 2 to 289 MHz, while making the Mach 2 the fastest computer BYTE has ever tested, will probably look more like gimmickry than innovation. NekoTech's aggressive pricing ($11,995 as tested) makes this machine among the least-expensive, as well as the fastest.
This is essentially a 275-MHz Alpha machine with a few extra clock cycles--at its core is a high-quality DEC-designed motherboard with a swapped-out crystal. As such, the Mach 2 holds virtually all the latest performance records, with integer performance over three times that of a 90-MHz Pentium. It outperformed the next-fastest Action system (with 27
5-MHz Alpha) slightly on all processor-intensive tests.
The Mach 2's powerful processor was supported by a superfast Seagate Barracuda drive in the unit we tested. Video performance was also excellent, as the Mach 2 fell behind only the specialized accelerator in the AlphaStation and the Number Nine card in the Action AXP 275.
Engineers from DEC's systems group told BYTE unofficially that they didn't expect problems at 289 MHz, stating that they've tested selected chips themselves up to 330 MHz. The Mach 2 is housed in a tall tower case with plenty of cooling and includes a heat-sink fan on the CPU. Fit and finish are first-rate, so we don't expect any problems from shoddy construction.
Netpower Fastseries MP
Like Intergraph, Netpower takes the ``Workstation'' part of Windows NT Workstation seriously. For Intergraph, that means CAD; for Netpower, that means high-performance systems designed for networked, distributed computing. Netpower offers a number of workstatio
n applications (middleware) along with the Fastseries, including an NT port of SGI's OpenInventor Toolkit and a Netpower distributed make utility called NetCompile.
The
Fastseries MP
is an SMP (symmetric Multiprocessing) design that can support two R4400 processors. Netpower wasn't shipping a working dual-processor model as we went to press, however, so the unit we tested ran a single 200-MHz R4400--the first available system to do so.
CPU cards (up to two) fit into slots that rest behind a fan opening in the front panel. The interior layout is unusual in this all-Netpower design: SCSI and Ethernet controllers are built into the system board so only the video card requires an external PCI slot. The back panel connections come directly from riser cards which extend up from the motherboard. The most notable user feature in the Fastseries is its soft power switch. You can safely power down the machine from the NT desktop by clicking on the shutdown button.
The Fastserie
s turned in a good performance on our benchmarks, somewhat behind the Alpha systems and generally ahead of the RISCstation 2000, its Mips-based rival. Dual Mips processors could make up for slower-than-Alpha performance, depending on the application. When Netpower ships its two-processor system and NEC ships its 200-MHz Mips workstation, the Fastseries and the RISCstation should be close in both price and performance (the single-processor Fastseries sells for $13,980). However, Netpower's workstation orientation and ability to supply middleware will make it more attractive for technical environments.
Polywell Poly Dual-590EP2
At $7900 as tested, the
Poly Dual-590EP2
is far and away the least expensive among these systems. If you're looking for a low-end entry into NT Workstation computing, the Poly Dual might be the answer. Compared alongside the thoroughbreds in this review, however, there's little beside price to recommend this dual-Pentium machine.
Lik
e the TD-4, the Poly Dual was overmatched on all the benchmarks except the PhotoMorph application, where the Poly Dual brought its second processor to bear. In fact, there's little discernible difference between benchmark performance for the two systems on this CPU-intensive test. As the TD-4 supported only 24-bit color and the Poly Dual only 8-bit in this configuration, it's hard to compare application performance between the two systems. However, the TD-4 appears to have fared better against other 24-bit video machines than did the Poly Dual against its competitors.
The Poly Dual's huge tower case hides a baby-AT motherboard that crams two Pentiums alongside four PCI (all bus mastering) and three EISA slots. Putting four PCI slots on a board comes a little too close to the edge of the PCI loading specifications to make us comfortable, but we didn't have any problems with the system. Other hardware included typical high-end PC equipment like the Diamond Stealth 64 PCI board and a fast quad-speed CD-RO
M drive.
If the performance of a single Pentium PC running NT doesn't cut it for you and you have applications that can take advantage of multiprocessing (e.g., SQL Server), the Poly Dual would be a good step up. It offers the processing performance of some much more expensive workstations at a bargain price.
NT Workstation Choices
NT's growing popularity makes choosing between several multiple-processor systems a real option; now you just have to pick from among a number of systems with a variety of strengths. Choices range from the high-end graphics but relatively underpowered CPUs of the dual-Pentium Intergraph TD-4 to the lightning-quick and moderately-priced Neko-Tech Mach 2.
If you have specialized requirements, you're choice is already made. With its high-end graphics system, Intergraph's TD-4 is the best system for 3-D and high-resolution, high-color video. And for 2-D graphics work, the AlphaStation is the best machine, combining fast floating-point process
ing with one of DEC's ZLXp graphics cards. The choice for a general-purpose workstation, however, is less clear-cut.
Currently, the Alpha processor is the way to go for supercharged NT performance, although dual 200-MHz Mips chips can compete with certain applications (depending on price). If you're looking for the tops in workstation speed, your choice is between the BTG Action AXP 275, the DEC AlphaStation 400, and the NekoTech Mach 2. While the AlphaStation boasts specialized video and the Mach 2 a slight clock-speed advantage, we lean toward the unit with the best blend of price, performance, and features. We recommend the Action AXP 275 as an excellent all-around NT workstation.
ABOUT THE COMPANIES
Action AXP275 RISC PC
BTG, Inc.
2802 Merrilee Dr.
Fairfax, VA 22031
(800) 449-4228
(703) 641-9200
fax: (703) 876-1920
URL:http://www.btg.com
AlphaStation 400 4/233
Digital Equipment Corp.
111 Powdermill Rd.
Maynard, MA 01754
(800) 3
44-4825
(603) 884-6660
fax: (800) 723-4431
info@digital.com
TD-4
Intergraph Computer Systems
1 Madison Industrial Park
Huntsville, AL 35894-0001
(800) 345-4856
(205) 730-2000
fax: (205) 730-2461
RISCstation 2000
NEC Technologies, Inc.
1414 Massachusetts Ave.
Boxborough, MA 01719-2288
(800) 632-4636
sales: (800) 284-4484
(508) 264-8000
fax on demand: (708) 238-7800
Mach 2-289-T
NekoTech
9272 Jeronimo Rd., Suite 115
Irvine, CA 92718
(714) 580-0055
fax: (714) 580-0060
FASTseries MP
Netpower, Inc.
545 Oakmead Pkwy.
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
(800) 801-0900
(408) 522-9999
fax: (408) 522-2666
jman@netpower.com
Poly Dual-590EP2
Polywell Computers, Inc.
1464-1 San Mateo Ave.
S. San Francisco, CA 94080
(800) 999-1278
(415) 583-7222
fax: (415) 583-1974
BENCHMARK SOFTWARE COMPANIES:
MicroStation for Windows NT 5.00.23
Bentley Systems, Inc.
690 Pennsylv
ania Dr.
Exton, PA 19341
(800) 778-4274
(610) 458-5000
fax: (610) 458-1060
Picture Publisher 4.0
Micrografx, Inc.
1303 Arapaho Rd.
Richardson, TX 75081
(800) 733-3729
(214) 234-1769
Windows NT 3.5, Microsoft Test
Microsoft Corp.
1 Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052
(800) 426-9400
(206) 882-8080
fax: (206) 936-7329
PhotoMorph 2.0
North Coast Software, Inc.
265 Scruton Pond Rd.,
P.O. Box 459
Barrington, NH 03825
(800) 274-9674
(603) 664-7871
fax: (603) 664-7872
illustration_link (65 Kbytes)
On the BYTE Native Mode and InterMark processor tests, the Alpha systems (BTG, DEC, and NekoTech) are faster than the Mips boxes (NEC and Netpower), which are faster than the Pentiums (Intergraph and Polywell). Within CPU families, these tests correlate with clock speed. The dual-p
rocessor systems (Intergraph, NEC, and Polywell) show their worth on the PhotoMorph test, which takes advantage of multiple processors. Otherwise, the PhotoMorph test mirrors floating-point performance. The Intergraph TD-4's GLZ graphics card made up for a relatively slow CPU on the Picture Publisher and Microstation tests with 24-bit color depth. The DEC AlphaStation's graphics card also did well on these tests relative to the other Alpha systems. Results for Native Mode benchmarks are given as overall integer and floating-point indexes. They are normalized against a DELL XPS P90 (90 MHz Pentium). InterMark figures are reported in transactions per second. Numbers for PhotoMorph are iterations per second (an iteration being an execution of each project), normalized so that the lowermost score is 1. Similar techniques were used to resolve the Picture Publisher and MicroStation tests, with the addition that component test scores were combined using a geometric mean. Higher numbers are faster in all tests.
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Seven fast Windows NT 3.5 workstations: (top, left to right) Intergraph's TD-4, BTG's Action AXP275 RISC PC, Netpower's Fastseries MP, (bottom, left to right) NekoTech's Mach 2-289-T, NEC's RISCstation 2000, DEC's AlphaStation 400 4/233, and Polywell Computers' Poly Dual-590EP2.
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BTG Action AXP275 RISC PC
photo_link (28 Kbytes)
DEC AlphaStation 400 4/233
photo_link (26 Kbytes)
Intergraph TD-4
photo_link (32 Kbytes)
NEC RISCstation 2000
photo_link (35 Kbytes)
NekoTech Mach 2-289-T
photo_link (26 Kbytes)
Netpower Fastseries MP
photo_link (29 Kbytes)
Polywell Poly Dual-590EP2
Steve Apiki is a BYTE contributing editor and senior developer at Appropriate Solutions, In
c., a Peterborough, NH-based consulting firm specializing in multiplatform development. Rick Grehan is BYTE senior technical director and developer of the BYTE Native Mode benchmarks. You can reach them via the Internet at
apiki@apsol.com
and
rick_g@bix.com
.
Fastest NT Workstations
