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HP Vectra XU 6/XXX Optimization Manual

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Guide to Optimizing
Performance
HP Vectra XU

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Summary of Contents for HP Vectra XU 6/XXX

  • Page 1 Guide to Optimizing Performance HP Vectra XU...
  • Page 2 The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. Hewlett-Packard makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Hewlett-Packard...
  • Page 3 Guide to Optimizing Performance A guide to the performance benefits of your HP Vectra XU PC.
  • Page 4 The Performance Benefits of Your HP Vectra PC Your Hewlett-Packard PC makes use of a number of new features to provide you with the best performance currently available from a PC. The configuration of your PC has been optimized by HP to make the best use of these features for general applications.

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    Contents 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Overview..........2 Your PC’s Configuration .
  • Page 6 2 Technical Reference Architectural Overview ........The Intel Pentium Pro Processor .

  • Page 7: Your Pc's Performance Features

    Your PC’s Performance Features This chapter describes the new features of your HP Vectra XU PC and how these features can bring optimized performance to your desktop application.

  • Page 8: Overview

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features Overview Overview Your HP Vectra XU PC provides a number of new features that bring unprecedented levels of performance to your desktop application. Some of these features offer you their full performance benefits immediately, without needing to be adjusted in any way. Other features must be configured according to your use before their full benefit can be realized.

  • Page 9: Your Pc's Configuration

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features Overview Your PC’s Configuration The configuration of your PC has been optimized by HP for general use. However, the performance of your PC can be further improved by changing this configuration to match the requirements of your application.

  • Page 10: Improving The Performance Of Your Pc's Processor

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features Improving the Performance of Your PC’s Processor Improving the Performance of Your PC’s Processor Your HP Vectra XU PC uses the most powerful processor currently available in any HP Vectra PC: the Intel Pentium Pro. The advanced capabilities of this processor are sufficient to handle any desktop application you may use.
  • Page 11 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Improving the Performance of Your PC’s Processor NOTE The advanced Pentium Pro processor installed in your PC provides the best performance when used with 32-bit operating systems and applications. Inside the Processor Internally, your PC’s processor performs tasks by breaking them down into sub-tasks.
  • Page 12 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Improving the Performance of Your PC’s Processor The Scope for The multiplication factor that the processor applies to the (external) clock source to produce its internal clock can be compared to the Improvement transmission in a car; increasing the transmission ratio allows the car to go at higher speeds.

  • Page 13: Advantages Of Dual Processor Configurations

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features Advantages of Dual Processor Configurations Advantages of Dual Processor Configurations Although the Pentium Pro processor in your PC is the most powerful processor currently used by any HP Vectra PC, one HP Vectra is able to offer an even higher processing performance: your HP Vectra XU! This is possible because your PC can use not one, but two of these advanced processors when running certain operating systems.
  • Page 14 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Advantages of Dual Processor Configurations If your PC is running an MPS-ready operating system, installing a second Pentium Pro processor will yield a significant performance advantage. The second processor works alongside the first and shares the processing workload.
  • Page 15 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Advantages of Dual Processor Configurations Multithreaded Any operating system consists of a number of functions, each of which controls some small part of the PC’s operation. Application software Operating Systems uses these functions as building blocks to create specific, more powerful tools for the user.
  • Page 16 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Advantages of Dual Processor Configurations MPS-Ready An MPS-ready operating system is multithreaded and also guarantees the integrity of any data shared between the different processors. Data Operating Systems integrity is essential in any environment where multiple copies of the —...
  • Page 17 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Advantages of Dual Processor Configurations The Advantages of Dual Your HP Vectra PC is able to bring the advantages of multiprocessing to your desktop. With two processor’s installed, the power of your PC is Processing in your PC significantly increased.
  • Page 18 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Advantages of Dual Processor Configurations One single-threaded application O/S 1 and O/S 2 are multithreaded operating system functions AP 1 and AP 2 are application Multiple single-threaded applications or one multithreaded application functions This distinction is important. If you are running a multithreaded operating system, and use multithreaded applications or multiple single-threaded applications, installing a second Pentium Pro processor will significantly improve the performance of your PC.
  • Page 19 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Advantages of Dual Processor Configurations The following table summarizes the benefits of installing a second Pentium Pro processor according to the operating system and applications you use. Multiple applications One multithreaded application Single-threaded None None operating system Multithreaded Performance improvement for all...
  • Page 20 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Advantages of Dual Processor Configurations Additional Advantages HP has proven experience in the successful design of dual processing PCs. Previous HP Vectra PCs have used the Pentium processor to bring of Dual Processing with MPS-compliant multiprocessing to desktop applications. your HP Vectra PC Compared with the previous generation Pentium processor, the Pentium Pro offers an additional performance advantage when used in...

  • Page 21: Matching Memory Capacity To Your Requirements

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features Matching Memory Capacity to Your Requirements Matching Memory Capacity to Your Requirements The memory supplied with your HP Vectra XU PC is sufficient to run any standard PC operating system. However, for certain applications, the performance of your PC will be improved by installing additional memory.
  • Page 22 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Matching Memory Capacity to Your Requirements Do You Have Enough The ideal memory capacity for your PC is determined by the operating system and applications you use. If you frequently use multiple Memory? applications at one time, you will need more memory than if you use only single applications.
  • Page 23 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Matching Memory Capacity to Your Requirements If You Do Not Have If you do not have sufficient memory for the applications you are running, your PC will compensate by using hard disk space as virtual Enough Memory memory.
  • Page 24 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Matching Memory Capacity to Your Requirements What Else is Memory Many operating systems use memory to accelerate data transfers with the PC’s hard disks. To do this, an area of memory is dedicated to a disk Used For? cache, which stores copies of the latest data read from or written to the hard disks.
  • Page 25 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Matching Memory Capacity to Your Requirements Installing More Memory If your PC has less memory installed than your operating system and applications require, then installing more memory will significantly improve your PC’s performance. Performance Memory Capacity English...
  • Page 26 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Matching Memory Capacity to Your Requirements Does Installing More Once you have sufficient memory, any extra memory you install will have no effect on performance. Indeed, surplus memory will probably Memory Always not be used. Improve Performance? Performance Memory Capacity...

  • Page 27: Benefits Of 32-Bit Applications

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features Benefits of 32-bit Applications Benefits of 32-bit Applications Your HP Vectra PC has been designed to offer optimized performance. The benefit that you can gain from your PC’s advanced features will be determined by the software that you use. NOTE The advanced Pentium Pro processor installed in your PC provides the best performance when used with 32-bit operating systems and...
  • Page 28 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Benefits of 32-bit Applications The Pentium Pro The Pentium Pro processor in your PC is a 32-bit processor. This means that it has been specifically designed to execute 32-bit instructions, and Processor has 32-bit registers for storing data and addresses. Your PC will give optimized performance when running 32-bit applications.
  • Page 29 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Benefits of 32-bit Applications Why 16-bit Applications When executing 16-bit instructions, the Pentium Pro processor is limited by two constraints. First, the Pentium Pro cannot mix 32-bit and are Slower 16-bit instructions in a pipeline. Second, at any moment only one 16-bit instruction can normally be present in a pipeline.
  • Page 30 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Benefits of 32-bit Applications Which Applications are All Windows for Workgroups applications are 16-bit. Many older applications, that have been adapted for use under Windows 95, 16-bit? Windows NT, or OS/2, may also be 16-bit. Refer to the manual supplied with your application software for more details.

  • Page 31: Installing Fast Peripherals On The Pci Bus

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features Installing Fast Peripherals on the PCI Bus Installing Fast Peripherals on the PCI Bus The HP Vectra XU PC provides six slots for accessory boards. Two of these slots are already occupied by your advanced graphics controller and LAN controller.
  • Page 32 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Installing Fast Peripherals on the PCI Bus Your PC’s Accessory Three of your PC’s accessory board slots are for full-length, 32-bit PCI accessory boards. Two of these are occupied by the video adapter and Board Slots LAN interface board.

  • Page 33: Increasing The Speed Limit With Ultra Scsi

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features Increasing the Speed Limit With Ultra SCSI Increasing the Speed Limit With Ultra SCSI Your HP Vectra XU PC integrates an advanced SCSI controller for connecting mass storage devices. This SCSI controller provides a high- capability SCSI channel with two connections: one on your PC’s system board for connecting internal SCSI devices;...
  • Page 34 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Increasing the Speed Limit With Ultra SCSI Multithreaded The PCI SCSI controller in your PC offers additional performance advantages under multithreaded operating systems. Your PC’s Operating System integrated SCSI controller is capable of receiving and processing the Support multiple commands issued by a multithreaded operating system.
  • Page 35 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Increasing the Speed Limit With Ultra SCSI Automatic Your PC is able to configure many SCSI mass storage devices automatically through a new feature, SCSI Configured Automatically Configuration (SCAM). When installing SCSI devices, refer to the documentation supplied with the device to see if it supports this feature.
  • Page 36 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Increasing the Speed Limit With Ultra SCSI The External SCSI The external SCSI connector on your PC’s rear panel can be used to connect external SCSI devices like tape drives. Use of the external Connection connector will be detected automatically by your PC at power-on.

  • Page 37: Disk Striping

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features Increasing the Speed Limit With Ultra SCSI Disk Striping If you are using Windows NT, your PC's integrated SCSI controller is able to improve the performance of your SCSI hard disk drives by using disk striping. This is a method of grouping multiple disk drives together so that they seem, to the user, as a single (logical) disk.
  • Page 38 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Increasing the Speed Limit With Ultra SCSI When your PC writes data to a particular SCSI hard disk drive, that data passes from the integrated SCSI controller to a buffer on the disk drive. The drive then transfers the data from the buffer on to the disk. Before transferring more data to the disk drive buffer, the integrated SCSI controller must wait until the previous data has been transferred on to the disk.

  • Page 39: Making The Most Of Your Pc's Ide Channels

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features Making the Most of Your PC’s IDE Channels Making the Most of Your PC’s IDE Channels Your PC integrates an advanced IDE controller for connecting internal mass storage devices. This controller can manage the operation of up to four IDE devices and supports both hard disk and CD-ROM drives.
  • Page 40 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Making the Most of Your PC’s IDE Channels The IDE controller transfers data to or from IDE devices in response to data transfers received or requested on your PC's PCI bus. The technique used for a particular data transfer with an IDE device is chosen according to the type of transfer received or requested on the PCI bus.
  • Page 41 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Making the Most of Your PC’s IDE Channels Your PC's integrated IDE controller can be configured as either a PCI master or a PCI slave. As a PCI master, the IDE controller will give a significantly improved performance for data transfers on the PCI bus.
  • Page 42 1 Your PC’s Performance Features Making the Most of Your PC’s IDE Channels Optimized Timings Different IDE devices have different data transfer capabilities. The latest IDE hard disk drives support PIO Mode 4 and DMA Mode 2 timings, but older hard disk drives and CD-ROM drives will typically support only the lower modes.

  • Page 43: More Video Performance

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features More Video Performance More Video Performance Highest Graphic Your PC's Millennium Video Adapter offers the highest video performance currently available for a PC. The Video Adapter provides Performance all the latest graphic acceleration features as well as MPEG-1 software support for high quality video playback.
  • Page 44 1 Your PC’s Performance Features More Video Performance The graphics controller stores screens of data for output to the display in video memory. These screens of data are called frames and so your video memory is also known as a frame buffer. Pixel Data The pixel data stored by the graphics controller defines the color to be displayed for each pixel.
  • Page 45 1 Your PC’s Performance Features More Video Performance Hardware Acceleration Many operations performed by your graphics controller involve the manipulation of pixel data stored in the video memory. For example, if you are using a graphics application and want to duplicate a part of an illustration, you will probably select the required area with your mouse and use a copy/paste function.
  • Page 46 1 Your PC’s Performance Features More Video Performance The Millennium Video Adapter also implements acceleration for color- space conversions. This enables the real-time acceleration of video playback. By implementing these acceleration features through hardware the Millennium Video Adapter ensures that they are always available, whatever the operating system, application, or video driver.
  • Page 47 1 Your PC’s Performance Features More Video Performance Available video resolutions for the Millennium Video Adapter and the quantity of video memory required for these video resolutions are indicated in the following table. Resolution: Video memory required for these colors: 256 colors 64 K colors 16.7 M colors...
  • Page 48 1 Your PC’s Performance Features More Video Performance Ergonomic Refresh The video controller must redraw your display at frequent intervals. The frequency with which it does this is called the video refresh rate and Rates higher rates are less tiring on the eyes than lower rates. The Millennium Video Adapter supports video refresh rates of up to 200 Hz for flicker free displays.

  • Page 49: Your Pc's Audio Resources

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features Your PC’s Audio Resources Your PC’s Audio Resources Your PC’s Audio Your PC provides stereo SoundBlaster ™ 16 audio capability integrated on the system board. The audio subsystem provides a number of Capabilities connections for use with external devices, including musical instruments through a MIDI (Musical Instrument Direct Interface) connector.

  • Page 50: Hp Pci Integrated 10/100Bt Lan Interface

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features HP PCI Integrated 10/100BT LAN Interface HP PCI Integrated 10/100BT LAN Interface The 32-bit PCI LAN controller provides a 10BaseT/100BaseTX fast Ethernet interface. This interface uses either IEEE 802.3 technology for transmitting at 10 Mbit/s, or IEEE 802.3u technology for transmitting at 100 Mbit/s.

  • Page 51: Hp Pci Integrated 10/100Vg Lan Interface

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features HP PCI Integrated 10/100VG LAN Interface HP PCI Integrated 10/100VG LAN Interface The 32-bit PCI LAN controller provides a 10Base-T/100VG AnyLAN interface. This interface uses either IEEE 802.3 technology for transmitting at 10 Mbit/s, or IEEE 802.12 technology for transmitting at 100 Mbit/s.

  • Page 52: Performance Topic/Configuration Cross-Reference

    1 Your PC’s Performance Features Performance Topic/Configuration Cross-Reference Performance Topic/Configuration Cross-Reference The following table shows which category of configuration change is required to obtain the full performance benefits discussed in this chapter. Where different types of configuration change are indicated for a topic, these may refer to different performance benefits: for full details, refer to the performance topic.

  • Page 53: Technical Reference

    Technical Reference This chapter describes the hardware architecture of your HP Vectra PC and explains how the latest advances in component technology have been harnessed to bring extra power to your desktop application.

  • Page 54: Architectural Overview

    2 Technical Reference Architectural Overview Architectural Overview Bus architecture Your HP Vectra XU PC is based on a three-bus architecture. Each bus connects functional components of your PC which have similar data handling requirements. By using this architecture, your PC is able to distribute its data traffic more effectively.
  • Page 55 2 Technical Reference Architectural Overview Pentium Second Main Memory Pentium Pro Memory Controller Processor Processor Processor’s Local Bus Millennium 10/100 Video Local Integrated Integrated Adapter Interface to PCI SCSI Bridge Controller Controller PCI Bus PCI Slots (3 or 4) Keyboard Flexible to ISA &...

  • Page 56: The Intel Pentium Pro Processor

    2 Technical Reference The Intel Pentium Pro Processor The Intel Pentium Pro Processor Your PC uses the latest development in x86 family processors, the Intel Pentium Pro. This processor implements a number of new features, such as superpipelining and an integrated level-two cache. It offers a performance that is almost twice that of a Pentium processor operating at the same external clock speed.

  • Page 57: Superpipeline Architecture

    2 Technical Reference The Intel Pentium Pro Processor Superpipeline Architecture Three Pipelines The key to the Pentium Pro processor’s improved performance is its superpipelined architecture, which allows it to execute instructions more quickly. Each instruction is executed in a number of steps through a mechanism called a pipeline.
  • Page 58 2 Technical Reference The Intel Pentium Pro Processor Out-of-order Execution When executing x86 family instructions, previous generations of processors had to be faithful to the order in which the instructions were received. This meant that if a particularly slow or complicated instruction was being executed, the processor was obliged to stall its pipeline until the instruction had completed.

  • Page 59: Integrated Cache Memory

    2 Technical Reference The Intel Pentium Pro Processor Integrated Cache Memory Cache memories are used by processors to accelerate access times for frequently used data and instructions. A cache is located between the processor and main memory, and stores copies of the last data read or written by the processor.
  • Page 60 2 Technical Reference The Intel Pentium Pro Processor Two levels of Integrated The Pentium Pro processor integrates three cache memories in the same package: an 8 KB level-one data cache; an 8 KB level-one Cache instruction cache; and a 256 KB unified level-two cache. The cache level refers to the proximity of the cache to the processor's pipelines;...
  • Page 61 2 Technical Reference The Intel Pentium Pro Processor Dedicated Level-Two The Pentium Pro increases the performance of its level-two cache by accessing it over a dedicated, 64-bit internal bus. This means that Cache Bus accesses to the cache will cause no contention with any operations on the local bus.
  • Page 62 2 Technical Reference The Intel Pentium Pro Processor If another device in your PC requests this data from memory, the Pentium Pro processor must be able to intercept the request so that it can supply the correct version of the data. To meet this requirement, the Pentium Pro processor uses two cache coherency mechanisms: the MESI (Modified, Exclusive, Shared, Invalid) protocol;...

  • Page 63: Higher Clock Speeds

    2 Technical Reference The Intel Pentium Pro Processor Higher Clock Speeds The Pentium Pro processor operates at higher internal clock frequencies than any previous x86 family processor. Typically, the Pentium Pro uses an internal clock that is up to three times faster than the clock used for the local bus.

  • Page 64: Main Memory

    2 Technical Reference Main Memory Main Memory The main memory in your PC consists of Double Interline Memory Modules (DIMMs). 32 MB or 64 MB are fitted as standard (depending on the model you ordered). The main memory can be upgraded to a maximum of 512 MB.
  • Page 65 2 Technical Reference Main Memory The processor’s local data bus is 64 bits wide. All data written to or read from the memory is transferred on this bus. The memory modules are accessed by the memory controller through two, parallel 64-bit data paths.

  • Page 66: Data Integrity

    2 Technical Reference Main Memory Data Integrity Previous generations of PCs protected the integrity of memory data by using parity bits stored with each data byte. Parity is calculated by adding up all the data bits in a byte. If the total is an even number, the parity bit is set to 0, while if the total is an odd number this will be 1.

  • Page 67: Memory Upgrade Path

    2 Technical Reference Main Memory Memory Upgrade Path The memory configuration of your HP Vectra XU PC is very flexible. Your PC’s memory capacity can be increased by installing pairs of memory modules of 16 MB, 32 MB or 64 MB in any memory bank in any order.
  • Page 68 2 Technical Reference Main Memory Base memory Memory added Memory added Memory added Total Memory configuration to bank 2 to bank 3 to bank 4 Capacity (bank 1) 64 MB — — — 64 MB 64 MB — — 128 MB 64 MB —...

  • Page 69: Technical Characteristics

    2 Technical Reference Technical Characteristics Technical Characteristics The technical characteristics of the HP Vectra XU PC are summarized in the following tables. Processors Type Intel Pentium Pro Clock speeds 150 MHz, 180 MHz, 200 MHz Architecture Three-way, superscaler 64-bit data, 36-bit address Five execution units Out-of-order and speculative execution Advanced dynamic branch prediction...
  • Page 70 2 Technical Reference Technical Characteristics PCI Bus Clock speed 33 MHz or 30 MHz, depending on processor clock speed Bandwidth 132 MB/s or 120 MB/s, depending on processor clock speed Accessory board slots Four, full-length 32-bit slots (one slot is combination ISA/PCI) Supply 3.3 volt or 5 volt Connected devices...
  • Page 71 2 Technical Reference Technical Characteristics Video Controller Description 64-bit MGA Millennium Video Adapter installed on PCI bus Video memory 2 MB WRAM, upgradeable to 4 MB or 8 MB Supported resolutions 1024 1152 1280 1024 1600 1200 Displayable colors 16.7 million (true-color) Refresh rates Up to 200 Hz Audio Subsystem...
  • Page 72 2 Technical Reference Technical Characteristics HP 10/100BT LAN Interface Description HP DeskDirect 10/100TX adapter installed on PCI bus Protocol 100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet standard Data transfer rates 10 Mbit/s (IEEE 802.3) 100 Mbit/s (IEEE 802.3u) HP 10/100VG LAN Interface Description 10Base-T/100VG AnyLAN interface installed on PCI bus Protocol Demand Priority Access Data transfer rates...
  • Page 73 2 Technical Reference Technical Characteristics Memory Address Map Address Description 0 - 3FFh Interrupt Vector Table (0 to 1KB) 400h - 4FFh BIOS Data Area (1 KB to 1 KB + 256 bytes) 500h - 9FFFFh Base Memory (1 KB + 256 bytes to 640 KB) Used by PC operating systems and software applications A0000h - BFFFFh Video Memory...
  • Page 74 2 Technical Reference Technical Characteristics I/O Address Map Address Function (hexadecimal) 170h - 177h Integrated IDE controller (secondary channel) 1F0h - 1F7h Integrated IDE controller (primary channel) ™ 220h - 22Fh SoundBlaster 16 audio subsystem (can be relocated) 278h - 27Fh Parallel port 2 2E8h - 2EFh Serial port 4...

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