Comparison of the xw9400 and the xw9300 architectures

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Mini White Paper

HP Workstations

Introduction: The xw9400 is the successor of the HP xw9300 dual processor personal workstation. Its architecture introduces

several key differences. The most significant of these are the processor type, memory technology, I/O slots, and the on-

board I/O interfaces.

editorial errors or omissions contained herein. 06/2006

Processor Technology: The xw9400 supports the AMD Opteron 2000

processors. Compared to the xw9300’s Opteron 200 processors, the

2000 series features shorter internal core latencies, additional

virtualization and security features, higher clock frequencies over time,

and upgradeability to quad-core processors.

Two Hyper-Transport links connect the processors on the xw9400, in

contrast to one on the xw9300. Although the peak aggregate data

bandwidth is still 8GB/s like on the xw9300

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, performance tests have

demonstrated gains of up to 30%. The largest gains have been

measured in cases typical of applications with combined heavy I/O

and memory activities, like many DCC applications.

Bypass Board: This small board fits into the 2

processor socket and

connects the 1

processor to the nVidia Pro 3050 chipset, via one HT

link. Unlike the xw9300, the xw9400 still enjoys all its I/O slots in a UP

configuration. It is installed by default in the factory for UP systems.

Memory Technology: Although still ECC protected and registered, the

xw9400’s DIMMs are based on the newer DDR2 technology. The

advantages of DDR2 include a faster data transfer rate at 667MT/s.

This results into a maximum bandwidth of 10.6GB/s per processor, a whopping 65% improvement over the xw9300’s DDR1-

400 technology.

The xw9400 introduces as well a new, additional, memory protection mechanism against data corruption by providing and

checking parity over the command and address signals between the processors and each DIMM. The xw9400’s DIMMs are

consequently referred to as “DDR2-667 Address/Command parity,

ECC, Registered” DIMMs.

The maximum supported memory size is doubling to 64GB, with 8GB

DIMMs. Also, open page latency on xw9400, as measured from the

processor core, decreased from around 60ns to 50ns thanks to

memory and processor timing optimizations.

Graphics: In most configurations, the xw9400 supports two full 150W

graphics cards, versus two 110W cards on xw9300. Cooling in the

PCI slot area has also been improved.

I/O Slots: The xw9400 has a total of 7 Graphics and I/O slots, while

the xw9300 has 6. Two additional PCIe x8 slots (x16 mechanical) on

the xw9400 provide an abundance of I/O bandwidth for high

speed I/O cards. The availability of 4 PCIe x16 slots provides an

unprecedented level of flexibility to the end user, allowing Graphics

and I/O cards to be located in the most optimized position from a

bandwidth efficiency standpoint.

Other Differences: The number of SATA-II ports on xw9400 has been

increased to 6, 2 internal USB ports allow locked-in devices like

license keys, and 2 on-board LAN ports are now available. 8 SAS

ports replace the xw9300’s on-board U320 SCSI. The 800W power

supply provides support for heavier system configurations.

Summary: HP offers with the xw9400 the highest performance dual socket CPUs from AMD, combined with an

unprecedented amount of I/O bandwidth in a desktop workstation. The xw9400 carries forward the value proposition

pioneered by the xw9300, that brought powerful processors and large memory configurations coupled with SLI Graphics

technology to the workstation market. By supporting even larger memory configurations, providing an unprecedented

number of high-speed Graphics and I/O slots, and through sound design engineering, the xw9400 provides the horsepower

for our end users to break through their ever more challenging tasks.

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refer to the “xw9400 Core Architecture” mini white paper for more information