Introduction
1-1
Chapter 1
Introduction
D
ell
®
OptiPlex
®
Gs and Gs+ low-profile 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
The Pentium microprocessor has an 8-kilobyte (KB)
internal data cache and an 8-KB internal instruction
cache, 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
®
Windows NT
®
and IBM
®
OS/2
®
operating systems.
•
An integrated cache with 256 KB of static random-
access memory (SRAM). Cache memory enhances
the speed of many microprocessor operations by
storing the most recently accessed contents of sys-
tem memory.
•
System memory that can be increased up to
128 megabytes (MB) by installing pairs of 4-, 8-,
16-, or 32-MB extended-data out (EDO) single in-
line memory modules (SIMMs) in the four SIMM
sockets on the system board. EDO SIMMs offer
improved performance by using a shorter page-mode
cycle time while accessing data within a single page
of memory. 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 SMART-compliant hard-disk drive in
your computer. All the hard-disk drives shipped with
the Dell OptiPlex Gs and Gs+ systems are SMART-
compliant.
•
Full compliance with PCI specification 2.0.
•
Full Plug and Play version 1.0a capability, which
greatly simplifies the installation of expansion cards.
Plug and Play support included in the system’s basic
input/output system (BIOS) allows you to install
Plug and Play expansion cards without setting jump-
ers or switches or performing other configuration
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