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09/20/2001 Entry: "NT4 and UDMA4"

Wow,
Did you know, that with Windows NT 4 and UDMA4 (100) access speeds, *everything* is so fast. I mean... really fast :) The system boots up fast, programs start up fast, and installing programs is fast. Which leaves one to believe that the real true bottleneck in an NT server/workstation is the speed of the hard disk. THIS is really noticable.

Darrel was using my Windows 2000 installation on my 100MHz drive, and had previously been using NT 4 Workstation on a 33MHz drive. However, since I will be trading in my desktop system for a laptop, I had wanted to consolidate what I could, which meant the removal of my Windows 2000 Installation.
So, I used Norton Ghost to clone my 1.2GB 33MHz drive to my 10.2GB 100MHz drive, installed the UDMA drivers for NT 4, and booted everything up. *F A S T*. I am really surprised.

Ya, I'm trading in for a laptop. Here is my current configuration, which I built myself:

• Abit BP6-II motherboard, with Celeron 500 MHz processor (66MHz Front-side Bus)
• Mid-Tower case, 115V~135V powersupply
• 192MB PC-100 SDIMM Ram
• 10.2 GB Seagate drive, 100MHz UDMA4 (with Highpoint Technologies 366 controller)
• Hewlett Packard cd-writer 9300 series, 10x write, 4x rewrite, 32x read
• Creative Labs SoundBlaster 128
• Two 10/100 Network Cards, RealTek 530
• ATI 8mb AGPx2 3D Rage Pro video card
• 15inch KDS Monitor (does 1024x768 @ 75Hz, 1280x1024 @ 60Hz with full visibility)
• 2 rear-access USBv2 ports, 1 Parrallel Port, 2 Serial Ports, 2 PCI Ports (for keyboard and mouse)

I hope to get a laptop around these lines:

• at least 13.5inch diagonal viewing LCD
• Full keyboard /w Microsoft Keys
• 4gb hard drive, better than 33MHz
• 64mb ram or better
• Imbedded floppy and CDROM, two PCMCIA ports (or USB ports)
• Battery or battery/power adapter combo

I don't know much about laptops, but this is about which that I need. I mean, I do not play games really at all (which is why i use NT 4 and not Windows 2000 anymore), and for that which I need, the above specifications suite me quite well.

I'm going to Laptop Central to make the trade -- he first suggested a 150MHz compaq with 64mb ram, i said no way. I'm going to take a look at the IBM Thinkpads he has, and I'll make my choice from there. Anyway, he said for me to bring in my system so he could take a look at it -- I wasn't very complete in describing my system, and he'd more accurately be able to quote me a system trade if he saw what my desktop had. If the trade doesn't work, I'll just sell my system (the first set of specs) for $799 or so in the paper, *firm*