HP PA chip technology, what is PA for a chip?
Gerben Wierda
them and MIPS are no good I'd like some more info. I am trying to find
information on what this PA architecture is and what the SPECmarks of the
machines are and how they relate to their competitors. Any hints to where to
find this info are welcome. Opinions are welcome too.
--
wie...@ltb.bso.nl (Gerben Wierda) || I speak for myself and not for my employer.
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HP ANNOUNCES PA-RISC MICROPROCESSOR THAT
WILL INCREASE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
BY MORE THAN 50 PERCENT
PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 18, 1992 -- Hewlett-Packard Company today
announced a next-generation version of its Precision
Architecture-RISC* microprocesser, the PA-RISC 7100, which will
begin shipping in computer systems starting late in calendar 1992.
The new chip, which is based on a single-chip design, is expected to
increase system performance by more than 50 percent and strengthen
HP's position over competitive RISC systems, the company said.
The PA-RISC 7100, which is compatible with the large installed
base of PA-RISC-based systems, operates at frequencies up to 100
MHz. In systems, the chip is expected to achieve a SPEC* rating of
more than 120 SPECmarks. At this speed, a PA-RISC-based system
could operate up to five times faster than systems from competitors.
HP leads the desktop workstation industry today with systems that
deliver SPECmark ratings of 76.8.
HP also expects equal performance gains in PA-RISC-based servers
that run mainframe-class, business-critical applications for on-line
transaction processing and batch processing. Since its introduction
of PA-RISC-based business systems and servers in 1986, HP has
consistently delivered some of the highest-performing systems in the
industry.
"PA-RISC is a proven architecture in the marketplace," said
Willem P. Roelandts, HP vice president and general manager of the
Networked Systems Group. "We deliver the powerful systems today
that other companies are now just talking about building. Now in
its seventh implementation, PA-RISC continues to show phenomenal
performance gains -- none of our competitors has been able to ship
systems that match our price/performance numbers."
With working prototypes already in HP development facilities, the
processor is expected to be featured this year in a full range of HP
products from workstations to business systems and multiprocessor
servers. HP computers that will incorporate the new processor
include the HP 3000 Series 900, HP 9000 Series 800 and the HP Apollo
9000 Series 700. Fully compatible with previous implementations,
the new chip also will be available as an upgrade in many of the
current PA-RISC-based systems.
The PA-RISC 7100 processor will be described in detail at the
COMPCON 92 conference in San Francisco on Feb. 25.
SUPERSCALAR DESIGN
The PA-RISC 7100 is a superscalar microprocessor that can issue
more than one instruction simultaneously. The processor was
designed with two execution units that execute one integer
instruction and one floating-point-operation instruction in the same
clock cycle. This design allows the chip to process more data
faster, thus increasing the overall performance of a PA-RISC-based
system.
SINGLE-CHIP IMPLEMENTATION
The new design also integrates the central processing unit (CPU)
and the floating-point unit on a single chip, replacing the two
chips found in current systems. This, in turn, saves board space
and significantly lowers cost of future PA-RISC-based products.
To further reduce costs, the new chip uses standard commercial
static RAM (SRAM) chips to implement its high-speed cache memory.
It uses advanced circuit design to run the cache SRAM at the same
speed as the CPU (up to 100 MHz), as opposed to several competitors'
RISC offerings that run the cache at a lower speed. The new chip
supports cache sizes ranging from 8 Kbytes to 3 Mbytes, allowing it
to be used in products ranging from low-cost workstations to
high-speed multiprocessing servers.
The PA-RISC 7100 owes its high degree of integration to a new 0.8
micron complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology,
down from the current 1.0 micron CMOS. HP's submircron CMOS process
technology reduces circuit size and allows HP to design extremely
dense chips for increased processor performance and reliability. HP
manufactures PA-RISC processors in fabrication facilities in Fort
Collins, Colo., and in Corvallis, Ore.
"These performance increases are consistent with HP's stated
objective of offering the highest-performance RISC processors in the
industry," said Roelandts. "HP's expertise in RISC technology
enables us to bring products to market faster than ever before. We
designed and produced this new processor in only 13 months."
PA-RISC EXTENSIBILITY
From its inception in 1986, PA-RISC was designed to extend well
into the next century. The PA-RISC architecture already has evolved
through seven processor implementations and three
integrated-circuit-process technologies. Currently, PA-RISC
technology spans systems ranging from under $5,000 workstations to
large-scale, multiprocessing systems with mainframe-class
performance, demonstrating the inherent scalability that was a
primary objective of the original architecture definition. The new
PA-RISC 7100 remains fully compatible with previous PA-RISC
versions, protecting customers' hardware and software investments in
this architecture.
PA-RISC ARCHITECTURE AND LICENSEES
HP designed PA-RISC in a simplified, modular fashion to
accommodate future technology, decrease system-design costs and
reduce time-to-market for new products. HP offers the industry's
broadest line of RISC-based workstations and midrange business
systems and servers.
PA-RISC architecture is licensed by Hitachi Ltd., Mitsubishi
Electric Corp., Oki Electric Industry Co. and Samsung Electronics
Co. HP makes all new processor technology available to PA-RISC
licensees.
Hewlett-Packard Company is an international manufacturer of
measurement and computation products and systems recognized for
excellence in quality and support. The company's products and
services are used in industry, business, engineering, science,
medicine and education in approximately 100 countries. HP has
89,000 employees and had revenue of $14.5 billion in its 1991 fiscal
year.
# # #
RISC stands for reduced-instruction-set computer.
The Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC) developed a
set of benchmark tests called the SPECmark.
SPECmark ratings are widely considered to be the most objective and
accurate method of comparing CPU performance of RISC-based computer
systems.