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Marshall U. Tests New 64-Bit Computer Processor

Posted on: Friday, 3 March 2006, 06:00 CST

By Brandon Ambrose

By Brandon Ambrose
The Parthenon ( Marshall U. )

(U-WIRE) HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Marshall University Computing Services is currently testing a new Intel computer processor for future use on campus. The Intel 64-bit X86 chip, along with the AMD Athlon 64, is the newest type of processors to double current chips abilities. According to Intel's Web site, the new processors are being built to replace current ones by boasting efficiency and along with the new Windows Vista operating system currently in development and testing, the new processors will allow users finer resolutions for audio and video and larger databases. "The processors and operating system seem to work just fine," Charles Elliott, associate director of customer services, said. "There are not too many applications out there right now that can take advantage of this new hardware." The software compatibility with the new hardware is different from the way it has been done in the past, he said. "You would think the software would be made to the operating system, not the hardware," Elliott said. "Current versions of Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer and some other software work fine, the biggest problem we have had is printer drivers. Right now, the only 64-bit software we have is anti-virus and Mathematica." Mathematica is a program commonly used in engineering, mathematics and computer science to analyze and visualize data, such as complex equations. UCS uses it in the testing process of new computer systems and programs. Some of the 64-bit processor computers are already finding places in the homes of computer consumers. "The towers with AMD Athlon 64 and 64 X2 processors are going to be the most powerful systems on the market right now," Jason Kingery, Information Technology graduate from Huntington, said. "Although there aren't too many programs out there to take advantage of these new computers, there will be soon. With the new programs, they will be more efficient and graphically superior to anything we as computer users have seen so far." UCS plans on making these new processor-driven computers available for student use as soon as the remaining problems are worked out. "We plan on having a few of these systems ready for implementation in the study center this summer to see how students react to the differences," Elliott said.

(C) 2006 The Parthenon via U-WIRE

Source: U-WIRE

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