HP Professional 6000 Highly Parallel System Architecture for Compaq Profession - Page 4

ECG066/1198 TECHNOLOGY BRIEF (cont.) ... CPU CPU Processor Bus (533 MB/s) Disk Memory Controller Memory Bus (533 MB/s) Memory Controller PCI Controller PCI Controller PCI Bus (133 MB/s) Graphics Controller PCI Slots and other Devices PCI Slots and other Devices SCSI Controller Figure 1. Block diagram of the Highly Parallel System Architecture as implemented in the Compaq Professional Workstation 6000. This architecture supports up to four processors in the Compaq Professional Workstation 8000. The new Highly Parallel System Architecture implemented by Compaq provides excellent scalability for increased system performance. It supports the use of multiple Intel Pentium Pro processors or Intel Pentium II processors. Each of these processors has advantages for specific computing environments; therefore, Compaq is using each of these processors in new products being developed to meet the widest possible range of customer needs. Pentium Pro Processor The Pentium Pro processor family is Intel's current generation of processors for high-end desktops, workstations, and servers. This product family consists of processors running at clock speeds of 150 MHz to 200 MHz with level 2 (L2) memory cache sizes of either 256 KB or 512 KB. The Compaq Professional Workstation 8000 will use the 200-MHz Pentium Pro processor with an integrated 512-KB L2 cache that runs at the core processor speed of 200 MHz. The highspeed processor and cache provide top performance. Because the larger 512-KB L2 cache holds more instructions, it provides a higher cache hit rate than the 256-KB cache. The higher cache hit rate reduces memory bus traffic and therefore increases performance and scalability of the system. Pentium II Processor The Pentium II processor is the next generation P6 processor from Intel. Formerly code named Klamath, the Pentium II processor will be available in 233-MHz, 266-MHz, and 300-MHz versions, each with an integrated 512-KB L2 cache. Compaq is implementing 266-MHz and 300-MHz Pentium II processors in the Compaq Professional Workstation 6000. The Pentium II processor provides some enhancements over the Pentium Pro processor, but it also has some limitations. The Pentium II processor incorporates Intel's MultiMedia Extensions (MMX) technology. MMX is the name for 57 multimedia instructions that Intel has added to its new generation of processors. This instruction set is expected to significantly improve the performance of processor-intensive multimedia applications that are MMX-aware. MMX is tailored to audio, video, and other multimedia tasks. An MMX-equipped workstation will use only one instruction to execute the same task that a Pentium Pro processor would perform using 4