Hewlett-Packard and Dell, among other workstation manufacturers, have been shipping their systems with the function turned off, according to company representatives.
Right now, workstation makers say, the broad array of software used in that segment of the market doesn't take advantage of the technology yet. Users, though, can easily turn on the hyperthreading function if they wish.
Although the situation will change, the wrinkle in the workstation market--where Intel said users could see performance benefits of up to 30 percent on select applications--underscores the difficulties in gaining broad acceptance and use for a new technology.
Only 30 applications had been fully optimised for Intel's Pentium 4 processor in the first nine months the chip was on sale.
Conceivably, the workstation experience could also provide a litmus test of what some PC makers might do with hyperthreading come Nov. 14, when the technology arrives on desktop computers.
If not enough desktop software comes out that is separated into multiple computing strands, a process known as threading, computer makers might decide to keep the new Intel technology dormant, said Peter Glaskowsky, editor in chief of The Microprocessor Report.
With other software, hyperthreading could even be a drawback. "If you are running single-threaded applications, it will reduce your performance," Glaskowsky said.
Intel disputes this. Although a small number of applications might see a minor dip in performance, "the very, very vast majority of applications" will benefit or, at a minimum, not be affected when running on Windows XP, said Shervin Kheradpir, director of performance benchmarks at Intel.
Users running multithreaded applications, such as Photoshop, will see up to a 25 percent to 30 percent boost in performance, Intel said. Users running two applications at once will see similar performance boosts and experience far fewer hang-ups.
An Intel representative said the company is recommending that PC makers turn on the technology in upcoming Windows XP machines. Nonetheless, the company acknowledged that acceptance in the workstation market remains largely on hold because software adjustment takes time.
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