NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #26/NN_1992_26.iso/spool/comp/sys/hp/12839

Internet Message Format | 1992-11-12 | 22.1 KB

From: [e-mail] (#Michael Taylor)
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 08:31:53 GMT
Subject: Re: New HP Workstations
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard GmbH
Path: sparky!uunet!charon.amdahl.com!pacbell.com!sgiblab!sdd.hp.com!hpscit.sc.hp.com!scd.hp.com!hpscdm!hplextra!hpcc05!hpbbn!hpbbi4!tay
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp
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       HP'S NEXT-GENERATION PA-7100 WORKSTATIONS

  DELIVER UNMATCHED POWER AND NEW WAYS TO MAXIMIZE IT


     PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 10, 1992 -- Hewlett-Packard
Company today unveiled an extensive family of the
world's fastest workstations and a suite of interactive
technologies that takes full advantage of their power.



     The new HP Apollo 9000 Series 700 workstation
family is based on the superscalar PA-7100 chip and
features the following:

     o    performance of up to 150.6 SPECfp92, 80
          SPECint92 and 147 SPECmark*89;

     o    high-performance, expandable color
          workstations priced from $5,695*;

     o    breakthrough 3-D graphics price/performance
          across the entire breadth of the product
          line, with 3-D solids workstations priced
          from $7,795;

     o    a cluster computing solution delivering 1
          billion instructions per second; and

     o    HP MPower, the workstation industry's only
          single-product solution for networked,
          collaborative multimedia1.


     "Increasingly power-hungry workstation applications
make the unprecedented levels of processor performance
we're announcing today an absolute necessity," said Gary
B. Eichhorn, general manager of HP's Workstation Systems
Group.  "The only workstation vendor delivering these
levels of power, HP is also putting this performance to
work with new technologies that make it much easier for
users to interact with their computers and co-workers."


     The latest and most advanced implementation of
PA-RISC* technology, the PA-7100 is the industry's
fastest RISC chip.  The new workstation family -- Models
715, 725, 735 and 755 -- sets new performance standards
for the CPU, graphics, disk throughput and network
operations.


     Building on this power, HP MPower provides HP
workstation users with an intuitive, multimedia-based
visual user environment that makes workgroup
communications and collaboration significantly more
efficient and productive.  While other workstation and
PC vendors offer point products, HP is the only company
integrating leading-edge multimedia communication tools
-- such as multimedia electronic mail and the ability to
share applications and images across the network -- into
a single, economical workstation-based solution for
distributed-computing environments.  All of the new
Series 700 workstations are multimedia-ready,
incorporating CD-quality audio and EISA* expandability.


     HP's combination of Series 700 workstations and
Series 800 business servers continues to provide
customers with the industry's only power-packed,
compatible solution from desktop to data center.  With
full compatibility, users of these new workstations have
access to more than 4,000 software applications to
address their engineering and commercial computing
needs.


The World's Fastest Workstations

     The 99-MHz Models 735 and 755 are the fastest
workstations in the industry, delivering 150.6 SPECfp92,
80 SPECint92 and 147 SPECmark89 to tackle the complex
applications that solve everyday problems for
workstation users.  The workstations provide nearly
twice the system performance of HP's current industry
leaders, while maintaining full binary compatibility
with existing models.  All of the new Series 700
workstation performance ratings were achieved using HP's
standard, fully supported HP-UX* compilers, which will
ship with every system.


     The Model 735 provides twice the floating-point
performance and
35 percent greater integer performance than any desktop
system from Sun Microsystems, IBM or Silicon Graphics
today.


     The Series 700 workstations offer more than three
times the X11 graphics performance of any workstation
competitor, delivering 19,122 X11perf.  They support a
broad range of HP graphics systems, including the new
CRX-48Z, the fastest mechanical-design graphics system
in its price range.  The 48-plane CRX-48Z features
leadership wireframe and surface rendering speeds and
double buffering for smooth movement of true-color
images.


     In addition to the outstanding CPU and graphics
performance, these workstations feature the fast and
wide SCSI 2 mass-storage interface, which eliminates I/O
bottlenecks by delivering disk throughput of 20 Mbytes/s
-- twice the I/O speed of Sun's SPARCstation 10 family
-- for major gains in real application performance.  In
addition, the high-speed FDDI* network has been tightly
integrated to connect directly to the system I/O board,
resulting in twice the actual network throughput and
further boosting application speeds.


     The desktop Model 735 is priced from $34,795 to
provide significant price/performance advantages over
competitive systems.   The system has 1 EISA slot and
supports up to 400 Mbytes of ECC RAM and up to 125
Gbytes of disk storage.


     The deskside Model 755 provides even greater
workstation expandability, with four EISA slots, support
for up to 768 Mbytes of RAM -- twice the memory capacity
of previous Series 700 workstations -- and a total disk
capacity  of 295 Gbytes.  Prices start at $58,995 for a
19-in. color system with 64 Mbytes of RAM and a 2-Gbyte
disk.


     With industry-leading performance, a compact design
and low price, the Model 735 is the ideal building block
for the cluster computing solution recently introduced
by HP and Convex Computer Corp.  A rack of eight Model
735 workstations running Convex cluster software
delivers more than 1,500 peak Mflops and nearly 1
billion instructions per second -- supercomputer
performance at a small fraction of the cost.


     Models 735 and 755 are ideally suited for markets
such as mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD),
electronic design automation (EDA) and scientific
visualization -- markets in which top system and
graphics performance and expandability are a necessity.


     Easy no-penalty CPU board upgrades are available
from current Model 720, 730 and 750 workstations to
Models 735 and 755.  No penalty means that the combined
cost of the current model and the upgrade is equivalent
to the cost of a new system from the factory, providing
current and future customers with an industry-leading
upgrade path.


No-compromise Entry-level Family

     Unlike many low-end workstations from competitors,
HP's Series 700s combine aggressive pricing -- from
$4,995 -- with outstanding functionality and performance
in the low-end Models 715 and 725.


     These models match or exceed the entry-level
performance of competitive  systems for a lower price.
In comparison with IBM's entry-level workstation -- the
RS/6000 Model 220 -- the Model 715 delivers 72 percent
greater floating-point performance, 44 percent greater
integer performance, three times the graphics
performance and memory capacity, and two times the
internal disk capacity at a price that is $1,000 less
for a 17-in. color, 16-Mbyte, disk configuration.  It
also offers more than twice the floating-point and
graphics performance of Sun's SPARCstation IPX.


     Models 715 and 725 feature expandability unmatched
by any competitor's entry-level offering.  They support
up to 256 Mbytes of memory and 2 Gbytes of internal disk
storage.  With outstanding EISA expandability in this
low-priced package -- four slots in the Model 725 and
one in the Model 715 -- these systems provide support
for an extensive array of key technologies, such as
video and the ISDN*, FDDI and IBM Token Ring network
interfaces.


     The breakthrough color-system pricing of this
family starts at $5,695 for the 15-in. Model 715/33.
This model is ideally positioned for both the low-end
CAD marketplace -- traditionally dominated by PCs -- and
as a high-performance, full-featured desktop client.
In addition, it is an ideal host for the HP 700/RX
station family, helping to further lower the color cost
per seat of HP's workstation X station solution.  A
19-in. color Model 715/33 with 16 Mbytes of memory and
a 525-Mbyte disk costs only $9,995.


     The Models 715/50 and 725 -- priced from $11,895
and $17,895, respectively -- operate at 50 MHz to bring
performance of 72.1 SPECfp92,
36.5 SPECint92 and 69 SPECmark89 to the entry-level
workstation marketplace for the first time.  The Model
715/33, operating at 33 MHz, delivers
45.0 SPECfp92, 24.2 SPECint92 and 45.9 SPECmark89.


     To further enhance the entry-level family, the new
CRX-48Z and the popular CRX-24 and CRX-24Z graphics
systems now are available on Models 715 and 725.
Complementing its industry-leading X11 performance, the
Series 700 now delivers leading 3-D solids performance
and functionality at lower prices than any competitor,
opening up the 3-D market to low-end workstation users
previously unable to afford this technology.


     With HP's PowerShade software -- which enables 3-D
solids rendering on even low-end color workstations --
3-D graphics now can be sent over the network using the
X Window System client/server protocol.  Host 3-D
functionality therefore is available remotely on any
X-capable device -- a  feature especially well-suited
for HP's 700/RX station family, with its optimized X
Window and Ethernet performance.


     "We are dramatically expanding the field of users
with access to technologies that our competitors offer
only on high-end systems," said Eichhorn.  "Now even the
most cost-sensitive users can take advantage of HP's
industry-leading 3-D solids solutions."


     With low-priced color, high performance, leadership
expandability, and full graphics functionality, the
Models 715 and 725 are a leading solution for a broad
range of markets, including EDA, MCAD, AEC, electronic
publishing, and computer-aided software engineering
(CASE).


     The new PA-7100-based workstations and business
servers support Release 9.0 of the HP-UX operating
system.  A proven, stable and robust operating system
shipping since 1981, HP-UX complies with the latest
revisions of industry standards -- including the OSF
Application Environment Specification, X11 Release 5 and
Motif 1.2.


     All models and upgrades can be ordered immediately.
General availability of Models 715, 735 and 755 is
expected to be in the first quarter of 1993, with the
Model 725 following in the second quarter.


     HP computer systems now come standard with a new
limited one-year, on-site warranty and choice of support
options.  Support options upgrade the base hardware
warranty to higher repair responsiveness and provide
software updates and software telephone support.


     HP is the third-largest computer supplier in the
United States, with computer revenue in excess of $10
billion in its 1991 fiscal year.  HP has been delivering
PA-RISC-based computers since 1986 with high
reliability, data integrity, data availability and
system availability.  PA-RISC is being advanced by the
Precision Risc Organization, an association of
industry-leading companies that is broadening the use of
PA-RISC technology and delivering its benefits to more
customers worldwide.


     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
90,900 employees and had revenue of $14.5 billion in its
1991 fiscal year.


                         # # #


Prices listed are U.S. local currency price.

Prices quoted are based on U.S. local currency price.

1 All competitive claims are based on vendor-published
information.

PA-RISC stands for Precision Architecture-
reduced-instruction-set computing.

SPEC stands for System Performance Evaluation
Cooperative, an industry-standard benchmarking group.
SPECmark is that group's standard.

EISA stands for extended industry-standard architecture.


HP-UX is based on and is compatible with USL's UNIX*
operating system.  It also complies with X/Open's* XPG3,
POSIX 1003.1, FIPS 151-1 and SVID2 interface
specifications.

UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System
Laboratories Inc. in the U.S.A. and other countries.

X/Open is a trademark of X/Open Company Limited in the
UK and other countries.

X11perf stands for X Window System 11 performance.

FDDI stands for fiber-optic distributed data
interchange.

ISDN stands for integrated service digital network.

.......................................................................

       HP'S NEW 3-D GRAPHICS PRODUCTS SPAN ENTRY

               TO HIGH-END WORKSTATIONS;

NEW WORKSTATIONS SET PRICE, PRICE/PERFORMANCE STANDARD

                        FOR 3-D

  3-D solids graphics now supported on HP X Stations


     PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 10, 1992 -- Hewlett-Packard
Company today announced the industry's lowest priced 3-D
solids graphics workstations -- part of a complete new
HP family of desktop and deskside workstation
visualization products.


     The 3-D graphics products run on the PA-7100-based
HP Apollo 9000 Series 700 workstations -- the world's
fastest workstations -- and feature the industry's best
graphics performance at every key price point.


     The family of graphics workstations delivers 3-D
solids graphics performance to the desktop at a
breakthrough entry price of $7,795* for a full-featured
workstation.


     The "no-compromise" workstations excel in all areas
-- including vector and solids performance as well as X
Window System performance.  "No compromise" means that
the workstation price doesn't force the customer to
choose between any single feature at the expense of
other features.


     "With today's announcements, HP has eliminated
price as a barrier to the use of 3-D graphics on the
desktops of designers," said Gary B. Eichhorn, general
manager of HP's Workstation Systems Group.  "HP now
offers faster graphics workstations at lower prices at
the key price points than any other company."


     Eichhorn said the new systems will benefit design
engineers who develop and manipulate large 3-D models,
architectural engineers who rely on visualization and
"walk-throughs" to simulate constructed objects and
specialists involved in disciplines, such as molecular
modeling.


     According to International Data Corp., a market-
research firm, the fast-growing market for 3-D
workstations is expected to increase during 1991-1995 at
a compound annual growth rate of approximately 40
percent.


     To bring the benefits of 3-D graphics to additional
desktops, HP is extending 3-D solids graphics
capabilities to X-capable devices, such as its
leadership family of HP 700/RX stations, through the
latest version of HP PowerShade.   With the HP
PowerShade software, even the most cost-sensitive user
can use 3-D solids solutions.


     HP's graphics workstations deliver the following:

     o    up to 600,000 triangles/s for fast 3-D solids
          rendering -- more than twice as fast as the
          equivalently priced Silicon Graphics Inc.
          (SGI) Elan workstations1;

     o    twice the wireframe performance and 35
          percent higher triangle performance of
          comparably configured Freedom Series from Sun
          Microsystems and Evans & Sutherland for
          $15,000 less;

     o    GPC cylinder-head performance of 78.7, the
          highest published 3-D solids performance in
          the industry at any price; and

     o    X11 performance up to three times faster than
          any competitive 3-D workstation.  Window
          manipulation is instantaneous.

     "It's great to be able to quote impressive
benchmarks, but the true test of a system's value is in
application performance," said Eichhorn.  "For example,
we have measured two- to four-times higher overall
graphics performance on our new graphics workstations
than the equivalently priced and configured SGI R4000
Elan workstation running Pro/Engineer from Parametric
Technology, a leading mechanical-design application."


     Since it is tightly integrated with the Series
700's superscalar PA-7100 CPU, HP's graphics subsystem
provides superior performance in all areas -- vector and
solids performance as well as X Window performance.


CRX-48Z, CRX-24Z Take on Most Demanding 3-D Solids
Applications

     The new CRX-48Z graphics subsystem is supported on
the new Series 700 Models 715/50 and 725 -- which
deliver performance of up to 72.1 SPECfp92, 36.5
SPECint92 and 69 SPECmark*89 -- and the Models 735 and
755.  The high-end Models 735 and 755, based on the
99-MHz version of the PA-7100, deliver performance of up
to 150.6 SPECfp92, 80 SPECint92 and 147 SPECmark89.


     With 48 color planes and true-color double
buffering, the Series 700 CRX-48Z workstation is a 3-D
solids modeling system without peer in its price class.


     For example, the Model 735 CRX-48Z workstation
delivers more than twice the triangle and quadrilateral
performance  -- two critical 3-D solids benchmarks -- of
the popular SGI R4000 Elan.  Also, the Model 735 CRX-48Z
achieves a rating of 78.7 in the GPC cylinder-head
benchmark -- a standard measure of 3-D solids
performance -- or up to four times the performance of
the DEC 5000 240-PXG Turbo and 4.5 times greater
performance than the IBM 350 GTO workstation.


     Head-to-head with the SGI Indigo R4000 Elan, HP's
Model 715/50 CRX-48Z workstation gives users a nearly 70
percent X Window performance boost and more than two
times the 3-D triangle performance for about $6,400
less.  Series 700 CRX-48Z system configurations begin at
$27,890, and include 16 Mbytes of RAM, a 525-Mbyte hard
disk and a high-resolution 19-in. color monitor.


     The CRX-24Z runs on all next-generation Series 700
workstations, including the entry-level Model 715/33,
which provides up to 44.2 SPECfp92, 23.3 SPECint92 and
45.9 SPECmark 89.


     CRX-24Z-based workstations offer a 24-bit Z buffer
for fast polygon performance and draw up to a fast
140,000 triangles/s.  The Model 715/33 CRX-24Z delivers
1.5 times greater 3-D vector performance, 25 percent
greater 3-D triangle performance and 65 percent more
quadrilateral performance than the SGI Indigo XS24Z.
With configurations that include a 19-in. high-
resolution monitor and hardware Z buffer, 16 Mbytes of
RAM and a 525-Mbyte disk, the Model 715/33 CRX-24Z is
priced at $18,995 vs. $21,500 for the SGI workstation.


     "For the uncompromising, cost-sensitive 3-D
workstation user, the Model 715/33 CRX-24Z is the clear
choice over competitive offerings that force users to
choose between price, performance and functionality,"
said Eichhorn.


HP PowerShade Brings 3-D Graphics to X Stations

     HP is driving the proliferation of 3-D graphics on
lower-priced systems with the latest version of
PowerShade.  PowerShade is a graphics library that
allows 3-D visualization on systems without custom
graphics hardware, including X-capable devices.


     HP PowerShade creates a 3-D image in workstation
memory.  It then uses the X Window System protocol to
send the image over the network to the X-capable device,
such as a member of the HP 700/RX station product line.


     "For those users who are most concerned about
price, PowerShade is a superior solution," said
Eichhorn.  "In fact, when receiving 3-D images, our
HP 700/RX stations achieve up to 40 percent faster
graphics performance than competitive X terminals."


     HP PowerShade runs across the entire family of
Series 700 color workstations.


     A new Model 715/33 workstation configured with a
15-in. color monitor, 16 Mbytes of RAM and PowerShade
delivers 610,000 3-D vectors/s and 12,000 triangles/s at
an entry price of $7,795.  The Model 715/33 is also
well-suited as the host for an HP 700/RX station to
further reduce the color cost-per-seat.


     An HP PowerShade single-user license for an HP
700/RX station or other X-capable device is priced at
$500 and is expected to be available on Dec. 1.


     HP also offers other graphics-workstation solutions
ranging from eight-plane grayscale and color solutions,
featuring fast vector and X Window System performance,
to the CRX-24 option for more demanding visualization
applications.  Graphics options are available to meet
the needs of desktop publishing, computer-aided software
engineering (CASE), information management and retrieval
and desktop productivity.  The workstations are also
well-suited for customers working on electronic-design-
automation (EDA) applications, such as schematic
capture, as well as those in financial services and
geographic information systems (GIS).


     The company's multimonitor workstation
configurations allow Series 700 users to take advantage
of expanded screen real estate for applications such as
GIS, command and control, financial-transaction
processing and process control.


     Hewlett-Packard Company is the third-largest
computer supplier in the United States, with computer
revenue in excess of $10 billion in its 1991 fiscal
year.  HP has been delivering PA-RISC-based computers
since 1986 with high reliability, data integrity, data
availability and system availability.  PA-RISC is being
advanced by the Precision Risc Organization, an
association of industry-leading companies that will
broaden the use of PA-RISC technology and deliver its
benefits to more customers worldwide.


     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
90,900 employees and had revenue of $14.5 billion in its
1991 fiscal year.


                         # # #


1 All product comparisons are based on current vendor-
published information.

All prices are based on U.S. local currency price.

PA-RISC stands for Precision Architecture-
reduced-instruction-set computing.

SPEC stands for System Performance Evaluation
Cooperative, an industry-standard benchmarking group.
SPECmark is that group's standard.

X1perf stands for X Window System 11 performance.