Introduction; System Features - Dell OptiPlex GXi Reference And Installation Manual

Chapter 1

Introduction

D
® ®
ell OptiPlex GXi mini tower systems are high-
speed, expandable personal computers designed around
® ®
Intel Pentium microprocessors. Each system uses a
high-performance Peripheral Component Interconnect
(PCI) design that allows you to configure the computer
system to your initial requirements and then add Dell-
supported upgrades as necessary. These systems also
support the Industry-Standard Architecture (ISA) bus for
older expansion devices.
This chapter describes the major hardware and software
features of your system, provides information about
accessing the online documentation, and tells you where
to find help if you need it.
S
ystem Features
Your system offers the following features:
•
An Intel Pentium microprocessor. The following
microprocessor options are available:
— An Intel Pentium microprocessor with an inter-
nal speed of 133 megahertz (MHz) and an
external speed of 66 MHz
— An Intel Pentium microprocessor with an inter-
nal speed of 166 MHz and an external speed of
66 MHz
— An Intel Pentium microprocessor with an inter-
nal speed of 200 MHz and an external speed of
66 MHz
— An Intel Pentium microprocessor with MMX
technology that has an internal speed of
166 MHz and an external speed of 66 MHz
— An Intel Pentium microprocessor with MMX
technology that has an internal speed of
200 MHz and an external speed of 66 MHz
— An Intel Pentium microprocessor with MMX
technology that has an internal speed of
233 MHz and an external speed of 66 MHz
The Pentium microprocessor has an 8-kilobyte (KB)
internal data cache and an 8-KB internal instruction
cache. The Pentium microprocessor with MMX
technology has a 16-KB internal data cache and a
16-KB internal instruction cache. Both micro-
processors have an internal math coprocessor and
other advanced internal logic.
•
The <Ctrl><Alt><\> key combination lets you
switch between the microprocessor's rated speed and
a slower compatibility speed.
NOTE: The <Ctrl><Alt><\> key combination is not
available under the Microsoft
®
IBM OS/2
•
A cache with 256- or 512-KB of pipelined-burst
static random-access memory (SRAM). Cache mem-
ory enhances the speed of many microprocessor
operations by storing the most recently accessed
contents of system memory.
•
System memory that can be increased up to
512 megabytes (MB) by installing 8-, 16-, 32-, 64-,
or 128-MB dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs)
in the four DIMM sockets on the system board. The
system supports both error correction code (ECC)
and non-ECC extended-data out (EDO) DIMMs. See
™
"Adding Memory" in Chapter 6 for details.
•
Self-Monitoring Analysis Reporting Technology
(SMART) support, which warns you at system start-
up if your hard-disk drive has become unreliable. To
take advantage of this technology, you must have a
®
Windows NT
®
operating systems.
Introduction
®
and
1-1