PA-RISC Hardware
HP 9000 PA-RISC computers are based on HP Precision Architecture, a HP RISC design from the 1980s and 1990s for Unix servers and workstations.
PA-RISC hardware platforms and computers were developed in phases by HP, based on technological advances, market development and the computerization since the 1980s. HP 9000 PA-RISC computers can be grouped into four distinct design phases:
| Design | PA-RISC Processors | Chipset | Used in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase I |
Infancy: Early Architecture | ||
| Early | TS-1, NS-1, NS-2, PCX | SIU/SPI, CTB | Early HP 9000 800 |
| Phase II | Growth: 32-bit 1990s | ||
| ASP/Viper | PA-7000, PA-7100 | Viper, ASP | HP 9000 700 workstations HP 9000 800 servers HP 9000 74x VME boards |
| Phase III | Maturity: The heydays | ||
| LASI | PA-7100LC, PA-7300LC | MIOC, LASI, Wax, Dino | HP 9000 700 workstations HP 9000 74x VME boards |
| U2/UTurn | PA-7200, PA-8000, PA-8200 | MMC/SMC,
U2,
UTurn, LASI, Wax, Dino, Cujo |
HP Visualize workstations Lettered HP servers |
| Astro | PA-8500, PA-8600, PA-8700 | Astro, Elroy | HP Visualize workstations Lettered HP servers |
| Stretch | PA-8500, PA-8600, PA-8700 | DEW, Prelude, IKE, Elroy | HP rp servers |
| Phase IV | Decline: 64-bit to Itanium | ||
| Cell | PA-8700, PA-8800 PA-8900 | CC, XBC, SBA, Elroy | HP rp servers HP Superdome mainframes |
| zx1 | PA-8800 PA-8900, Itanium 2 | Pluto, Mercury | HP rp servers HP Superdome mainframes HP Itanium computers |
HP PA-RISC processors span a range from early 1980s 32-bit TS-1 based on TTL, to modern dual-core 64-bit PA-8900 in the mid-2000s. HP designed and produced most processors in-house, as it did with the custom HP chipsets and platform designs used in HP 9000 PA-RISC servers and workstations.
There were many special HP expansion cards for HP 9000 I/O buses, for graphics and videos HP often used inhouse PA-RISC graphics adapters. PA-RISC computers have a custom Boot Menu, PDC, and display error codes on LEDs on the system front.
PA-RISC hardware peaked with very advanced 64-bit designs in the Decline (IV) phase during the 2000s, when EPIC (Itanium) was introduced. The overall HP PA-RISC and HP 9000 story is longer, together with the complex history of PA-RISC operating systems. There is a PA-RISC timeline with pricing from 1982 to the 2010s.