OS/2 e-Zine! - Hewlett Packard's Vectra XU 6/200

Hewlett Packard's Vectra XU 6/200 - by Chris Williams

When my office needed a new solution for recording our own CD-ROMs, I began to ask around about what class of system would be best cut out for the job in the real-world. Needless to say, while an average system by today's standards is capable of recording CDs, everyone who seemed to know something about CD recording said the same thing: Get the fastest, hottest machine you can lay your hands on! With that in mind, I finally settled on Hewlett Packard's Vectra XU 6/200 series system -- loaded up with as many trimmings as I could reasonably justify. The Vectra XU is one of the high-end offerings from HP designed to do one thing well: run blazingly fast.

The Hardware

The standard features of the Vectra XU are:

Intel Pentium Pro 200 MHz processor, with support for dual processing
High-Performance, 128-bit memory architecture with ECC DIMM support
Integrated Ultra SCSI and PCI Bus Master Enhanced-IDE controllers
16x Max-speed EIDE CD-ROM drive
Integrated, high-quality Sound Blaster Pro-compatible 16-bit audio
32-bit PCI Professional video solution with 64-bit graphics engine
High-speed 10/100VG or 10/100Base-T PCI LAN interface

My particular model, the Vectra XU 6/200 mini-tower came with:

512KB Level 2 cache (internal to the processor)
64MB 60ns ECC DIMM memory
2.1GB Ultra SCSI disk drive
Matrox Millennium PCI 64-bit graphics accelerator with 2MB RAM

As extras, I upgraded the Matrox card to 4MB RAM and added a second 2.1GB drive. The monitor is an Eizo FlexScan F77 21" display with speakers. For my CD-ROM recording needs, I opted for a Yamaha CDR400 caddy style recorder. This particular recorder can function as both a reader and a recorder, which has proved to be a real advantage. (More on recording your own CD-ROMs under OS/2 will come in a later review.)

Christmas in Spring -- Unpacking the System

The Vectra arrived in due time and I set about the job of setting up the hardware and all the other components. I was impressed with the overall fit and finish of the system. It's well laid out on the inside and, most important, there are plenty of additional slots and bays for adding things. No tools are required to remove the system cover; just lift two latches and slide it forward. But not needing tools for basic maintenance, alas, is still a lost art to most brands of today, and here the HP follows the crowd. Once the cover is open, be prepared with the usual array of screwdrivers, pliers, and a good Swiss Army Knife. You'll need them. Other than that, adding the second SCSI drive, CD recorder, and upgrading the card was straightforward with no surprises.

On the downside, the second hard drive failed soon after being installed. I'm still waiting for a replacement drive.

Being that I'm based in Switzerland, this system came loaded with German BIOS, drivers, and (worst of all, OS/2 fans) the German version of Windows NT. The system comes with it preloaded and you don't have the option to change it. While my German skills are improving all the time, I get enough practice without having to decipher every computer message for both the language and what it means. A quick visit to the HP Web site for an updated BIOS fixed the language problem. Warp 4's FDISK program and Boot Manager fixed the NT problem. My Vectra is now a multi-boot system with NT 4 modified to access my shared HPFS D: drive. To HP's credit, a CD-ROM is included with the system that provides drivers for every major OS. The OS/2 drivers were no more difficult to find than any others and all were quite up to date.

Software Installation

Warp 4 installs on this system flawlessly the first time! Period. The installation program correctly recognized every system component except the Matrox video card, which defaulted to standard VGA, and the PCI LAN card. As expected, the OS/2 drivers for the LAN card installed from diskette when prompted. The latest drivers from Matrox for OS/2 also installed the first time and worked impressively well -- as long as you read and understand the documentation that comes with them. Use care when installing the Matrox drivers! Follow the instructions carefully and completely. Otherwise, you may find yourself booting with Alt-F1 resetting to VGA, and starting over.

The HP J2585B PCI Ethernet card is one of a newer series from HP. It's a dual mode 10/100BaseT(X) adapter that comes with only a single RJ45 port -- the standard for 10BaseT. Just plug in your LAN cable and the card automatically senses the speed of the network and sets itself up accordingly. This kind of flexibility makes people upgrading to 100BaseTX from 10BaseT just sit back and smile. It's a wonderful system when combined with today's 10/100BaseTX auto-sensing hubs. Other nice touches on the Vectra XU include a 3-button mouse, a well planned and nice feeling keyboard (even if it is Swiss-German), and a wheel shaped volume control for the system's built-in speakers.

Get Ready to Scream

The software that loads on this system at boot-up is important to note. Keep in mind the number and kinds of programs that I have set to load as the system comes up. My list of programs that launch at start-up include these (and a few more):

NetWare Client (and all those drivers!)
File and Print Client (running NetBIOS over TCP/IP)
TCP/IP Services
TCP/IP for OS/2 X-Windows Server (the 16-bit one)
Object Desktop Professional 1.5
Animated Mouse Pointer for OS/2 (AMPTR)
Unite CD Maker CD recorder drivers
TCP/IP Inet, Telnet, and FTP daemons

In my opinion, one of the best ways to impress someone with the performance of your system is to talk about how long it takes for your system to actually boot. Okay, so it's not a true measure of performance but we're talking more about bragging rights here.

The Vectra XU doesn't disappoint at all in this respect, and Warp 4 takes full advantage of the 32-bit optimization of the Pentium Pro processor. The Power On System Test requires approximately 45 seconds from the time you turn on the power switch to the time the Boot Manager Menu screen shows up. Press "Enter" to start Warp 4, and the HP loads everything, including all those drivers, network support, TCP/IP processes, the X-Server, the File & Print Client Requester, and more -- all in approximately 1 minute and 50 seconds.

The Pentium Pro

Warp 4 on the 200MHz Pentium Pro is Warp the way it should be. It's just downright, blazingly fast. Netscape loads faster than you can read the opening logos. The 16-bit Win-OS/2 Window loads in a separate session in Enhanced Mode in 2 or 3 seconds! You can also take advantage of a few OpenGL drivers (like the WarpSpace betas) that are optimized for the Pentium Pro. In short, Intel really did OS/2 a favor by optimizing the Pentium Pro for true 32-bit operating systems. Windows 95 simply can't take full advantage of this processor! If (as I would expect) Intel drops pricing on Pentium Pros after the Pentium II gathers steam, OS/2 bargain hunters should keep a keen eye out.

Also of note is that the Vectra XU comes with a second processor slot. That's got me waiting with bated breath for that widely talked about Warp 4.x/5.x SMP kernel. Gee, if one Pentium Pro 200 can do this, two of them should...

Performance Results

I used Sysbench 0.9.1d to test the performance of the Vectra XU. If my descriptions of the Vectra XU's speed don't impress you, Sysbench certainly will. On the first pass, the performance marks were much faster than the PCs previously reviewed in OS/2 e-Zine!. In some areas, the results were truly impressive, doubling or tripling earlier performance marks. The Matrox accelerator also performed impressively well, filling that 21" Eizo display with a gorgeous 1600 x 1200 x 65,000 color viewing area.

With all its speed and power, the HP Vectra 6/200 will really spoil you. If you can afford the low $4000 range price -- which is competitive for what you get -- this system's a real winner!

Rating:

4.5 out of 5 (On the pricey side, but you get what you pay for!)

System Configuration:

CPU: Intel Pentium Pro 200MHz
Cache: 512 Kb
RAM: 64 Mb
Video: Matrox Millennium PCI w/ 4Mb RAM
Hard Drive(s): 2.1GB Ultra SCSI on a PCI Ultra SCSI Controller
CD-ROM: 16X Max-speed EIDE
Floppy: 3 1/2"
Sound Card: Integrated SB-16/SB-Pro compatible
LAN Adapter: HP J2585B PCI 10/100BaseT
Price: US$4,035 (est. street price)
Shipping Area: Worldwide
Warranty: 3 Years

Manufacturer:
Hewlett Packard Company

Chris Williams has been actively involved with OS/2 systems for the past six years. A former IBM employee, OS/2 Ambassador, and long time member of Team OS/2, he is currently a PC and network specialist for Perot Systems Corporation.

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