Dell OptiPlex Gxi - Manual (Page 25)

Introduction 1-1
Chapter 1
Introduction
D
ell
®
OptiPlex
®
GXi 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.
• A keyboard command ( <CTRL><ALT><\> ) that lets
you switch between the microprocessor’s rated
speed and a slower compatibility speed.
NOTE: This keyboard command is not available
under the Microsoft
®
Windows NT
®
and IBM
®
OS/2
®
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 sock-
ets on the system board. The system also supports
both error correction code (ECC) and non-ECC
DIMMs. 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 com-
puter. All hard-disk drives shipped with OptiPlex
GXi systems are SMART-compliant.
• A basic input/output system (BIOS), which resides
in flash memory and can be upgraded by diskette if
required.
• 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 BIOS
allows you to install Plug and Play expansion cards
without setting jumpers or switches or performing