HP to debut mid-range computer with superscalar, PA-RISC MPU

Electronic News, August 24, 1992 by Jonathan Cassell

PALO ALTO, CALIF.--Hewlett-Packard is expected today to roll out a mid-range business computer that is the first to employ a superscalar, single-chip PA-RISC micro-processor that will ultimately be adopted throughout HP's entire RISC systems line.

The HP 3000 Series 987 computer, available next month starting at $220,000, marks the practical debut of the PA-RISC 7100, which was introduced early this year (EN, Feb. 24) and is to be employed in desktop systems by the end of the year, according to Patrick Adamiak, product line manager for the HP 3000. HP is positioning the 7100 to be used across its entire line of computers, from desktop workstations through highend servers and mainframe-equivalent units, on both the proprietary HP 3000 side and the Unix HP 9000 side.

The 7100, with a 100MHz clock rate and claimed performance rating of 120Spec-marks, uses an integrated floating point coprocessor and off-chip cache to reduce costs while offering high scalability. The previous, two-chip version of PA-RISC included a separate floating point processor. The 7100's off-chip, SRAM cache allows HP to use one processor design for platforms of all types and sizes, with the size of the cache determined by the platform.

"Having floating point integrated on the chip will allow us to lower manufacturing costs when we come out with desktop implementations later this year," Mr. Adamiak said.

In addition to desktop systems, another candidate for the 7100 is the HP 9000 Series 800 business server line. With a projected role in the HP 9000 line, the HP 3000 line and the HP Apollo 9000 Series 700 workstation line, the 7100 would span all of HP's RISC-based systems.

"This is the first time a chip has been shared across three product lines. Having the same implementation makes for great economies of scale," Mr. Adamiak argued. Because the 7100 resides on a removable board on the HP 3000 Series 987, the processor is likely to quickly find its way into other 3000 systems, including the 977 via a board swap upgrade. Mr. Adamiak said a dual-processor version is in the works.

The 987 unit, which HP plans to introduce today at its Interex users conference in New Orleans, is targeted at the market for mid-range systems, particularly IBM's AS/400, which is itself expected to be upgraded in a week or two. The 987 will come in a preconfigured version with 7100 PA-RISC CPU, memory, disk, tape back-up, operating system, database software, a console and 100-user license for $220,000. Base systems start at $220,000 and board upgrades for 977s are priced at $85,000.