The Bloatware Co-Processor

January 29th, 2007 | by Chris Morley

Once upon a time PCs were terrible gaming platforms. *gasp* Why, you ask? Well, beside the obvious lack of horsepower or gaming-centric graphics accelerators, the CPUs were simply not capable of processing in hardware the necessary floating-point math required for today’s games.
 
Starting with the 80386, consumer desktop PCs were the first to benefit from a symbiotic, pseudo dual-core technology that included a second processor for handling these math-intensive calculations. While this processor could not stand on its own or even allow the system to perform multi-threaded instructions, it did intercept floating point instructions and could decode them in hardware.
 
And boy-oh-boy did video games get a boost. Eventually the x87 floating point co-processor went the way of the dodo when its function was integrated in the 486 processor, although stripped down versions of the CPU did not include the FP unit. Anyone who owned an Intel processor with the SX designation knows it was the Celeron of the day.
 
Now it’s all about the multi-threaded, multi-core architecture. Both Intel and AMD have made tremendous efforts in delivering unheard of performance on the desktop by incorporating multiple CPUs into a single processor package at a very affordable price point.
 
This really opens up the possibilities to software designers both in and out of the gaming realm to expand physics calculations, artificial intelligence, and keep games running smoothly without hitches or lag. Of course, you need to make sure your system is running lean and mean with no extra software chugging your system down and wasting the time of the second processor. 
 
But let me tell you why the multinational Tier 1s benefit from dual-core processing technology more than their customers.
 
It’s quite simple. They load down their systems with extraneous software that you do not need and only chew up clock cycles. Microsoft has dubbed this bloatware “craplets,” and they’re worried it’s going to ruin Vista’s reception by the public. These craplets of course are revenue streams for the Tier 1s. In fact, with the razor thin margins in this industry, the kickbacks they get may mean the only margin they get! So who’s the real customer at this point? Back to my point…
 
Bloatware and craplets bog down system performance and make your system less responsive. Dual core technology makes this less obtrusive to the end user as a second processing core can be occupied with the all the pop-ups, advertisements, and “free” offers while you are able to get your work done on the other. And the faster PCs get, the more bloatware they can install.
 
You didn’t buy a bloatware co-processor, you bought a dual-core processor that is supposed to speed up video encoding, digital imaging, and make for a smoother gaming experience. Right?
 
Not according to those other guys. 
 
Who do you think loads the most “bloatware” on their PCs? I would love to hear about it.
 
Chris Morley is the Director of Product Development for Velocity Micro


Post Your Comment...Comments

Chris Morley on Jan 29th, 2007 at 12:53 PM:

*example of a game specifically coded to take advantage of an x87 floating point unit: Spectrum Holobyte's Falcon 3.0 from 1991. Anyone remember that? I passed my AFAST for the Army due partially to the comprehensive flight manual that came with it. =)

Ian Bell on Jan 29th, 2007 at 2:01 PM:

I think what kills my systems the most is the large number of auto-updaters that are continually running in the background. Anti-virus, anti-spam, DVD writing software, Windows update etc. That will keep the extra CPU busy for sure!

Chris M. on Jan 29th, 2007 at 2:07 PM:

Dell PCs are notorius for this too. Not only do they load your PC up with software that no one wants, but they have their own software updater that constantly runs in the background sucking up your CPU and memory.

Smiley on Jan 30th, 2007 at 11:59 AM:

So...don't fill up your PC with this crap software.

And if it comes preinstalled, remove it!

Brett on Jan 30th, 2007 at 11:59 AM:

To Smiley,

What happens if your parents buy a PC with this on it? Most people that are not tech experts just use their PCs as-is.

Pavel on Jan 30th, 2007 at 12:05 PM:

Anyone who has read the article on digg regarding Norton's hogging of system resources. Personally, I slosh through msconfig startup programs every few months to trim the hedges and keep my boot time down.

Billco on Jan 30th, 2007 at 1:47 PM:

I don't think we can so easily point the finger for this trend. The reason there's even a market for these "craplets" is because it is a profitable business. OEM's get paid to preinstall software as a form of advertising... It's like a dope dealer saying "the first hit is free" hoping you'll get hooked and buy more of the product (upgrades, yearly subscriptions etc). The reason OEMs like Dell, HP and Gateway load their systems down with crap is because it's the only for them to make money anymore. Today's consumers are crazily obsessed with low prices, thanks to Wal-Mart and other gross abuses of capitalism. Fewer and fewer people care to pay for quality anymore; well you got what you paid for.

I'm an independent PC builder, and I can't match Dell's bargains even at my supplier's cost, so I charge more. Do I load crapware ? Absolutely not. Do my systems run faster and more stable than big-box PC's ? Most certainly! But is the 20-25% higher price worth it ? That's for the buyer to decide. The word cheap has a double meaning.

Tree on Jan 30th, 2007 at 2:31 PM:

eMachines is also famous for this. Funny how the first step to installing a name brand computer is to uninstall all the crap that came with it.

Bill on Jan 30th, 2007 at 4:32 PM:

First thing I do with a new system is repartition and format the HDs and then load a copy of Windows myself. Of course it doesn't prevent my wife from installing all sorts of crap... :-)

Chris S. on Jan 30th, 2007 at 6:18 PM:

Thanks for the information, Mr. Morley. You aren't shilling for your company at all here, are you?

Chris Morley on Jan 31st, 2007 at 5:48 AM:

You're quite welcome, Chris S. While I'm quite comfortable extolling the virtues of Velocity Micro in public, this little piece had been turning over in my head before I came to work for VM. I never got a chance to publish it for the website I used to work for.

Chad on Jul 31st, 2007 at 2:09 PM:

Absolutely true. It's rediculous to have 5 or 6 auto updaters constantly slowing down not only basic functions, but eating up internet bandwidth.
http://www.aesistech.com

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