Hard-Disk Drive Options; Low-Profile Computer; Midsize Computer; Enhanced Dual-Interface Eide Subsystem - Dell OptiPlex Gs Service Manual

Hard-Disk Drive Options

Low-Profile Computer

The hard-disk drive assembly (consisting of the hard-disk drive and the hard-
disk drive bracket) is located inside the left front area of the chassis and is
attached to the bottom of the chassis. One EIDE or SCSI 1-inch-high hard-disk
drive can be mounted on the hard-disk drive mounting bracket.

Midsize Computer

The hard-disk drive bracket is located next to the externally accessible drive
bays at the front of the computer. The hard-disk drive bracket can contain either
one or two 1-inch-high EIDE or SCSI hard-disk drives, or it can hold one
1-inch-high EIDE or SCSI hard-disk drive and one 1.6-inch-high EIDE or SCSI
hard-disk drive.

Enhanced Dual-Interface EIDE Subsystem

The EIDE subsystem provides two mode-4, DMA bus-mastered EIDE inter-
faces, each of which can support up to two EIDE devices. The EIDE controller
attaches to the high-speed PCI local bus.
The primary EIDE interface (IDE1) provides support for up to two high-
performance EIDE devices, such as hard-disk drives. The computer's boot drive
should be connected to the primary EIDE interface.
The secondary EIDE interface (IDE2) provides support for up to two additional
EIDE devices, typically EIDE tape drives or CD-ROM drives.
NOTE: The externally accessible drive bays at the front of the computer are
normally used for diskette drives, CD-ROM drives, and/or tape drives. Hard-
disk drives should be installed in the internal hard-disk drive bracket described
in "Hard-Disk Drive Options" found earlier in this chapter. For detailed infor-
mation about the data storage subsystem, see Chapter 7, "Installing Drives," in
the Reference and Installation Guide.

Built-In Video Controller

The video subsystem consists of a high-speed, high-resolution video controller
built into the system board. Because the video controller connects to the PCI bus
rather than to the ISA bus, communication between the video subsystem and the
microprocessor is much faster. The PCI bus operates at a frequency of 33 MHz as
compared to the 8.25-MHz operating frequency of the ISA bus.
The built-in video controller includes 1 MB of video memory built into the sys-
tem board, with sockets for an additional 1 MB of video memory.
System Overview 1-7