Dell OptiPlex GXi, Reference And Installation Manual

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Introduction 1-1
Chapter 1
Introduction
D
ell
®
OptiPlex
®
GX i midsize systems are high-speed,
expandable personal computers designed around Intel
®
Pentium
®
microprocessors. Each system uses a high-per-
formance 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
®
O/S2
®
operating systems.
•
A cache with 256- or 512-KB of pipeline-burst static
random-access memory (SRAM). Cache memory
enhances the speed of many microprocessor opera-
tions by storing the most recently accessed contents
of system memory.
•
System memory that can be increased up to
512 megabytes (MB) by installing 8-, 16-, 32-, 64-, or
128-MB extended-data out (EDO) dual in-line memory
modules (DIMMs) in the four DIMM sockets on the sys-
tem board. The system also supports both error correction
code (ECC) and non-ECC DIMMs. See “Adding Mem-
ory” 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 com-
puter. All hard-disk drives shipped with OptiPlex
GX
i systems are SMART-compliant.
•
Full compliance with PCI specification 2.1.
•
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