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HP 9000/715

The HP 9000 715 are 32-bit technical PA-RISC workstations from HP from the early to mid 1990s and some of the most popular HP 9000. Often used for Unix-based technical design, CAD/CAM and engineering, the 715 were powerful, expandable HP-UX systems, when Unix workstations were still popular for these uses.

They were marketed against the other popular Unix workstations of the 1990s – SGI Indy and Indigo, DEC Alpha, IBM RS/6000 and Sun SPARC­stations, while looking slightly like 1990s desktop PCs. Since used advanced graphics adapters or had them integrated, the 715 were often used for graphical (2D and 3D) and video use cases.

HP 9000 715 workstations were sold in two different versions: The first 715 were based on ASP with PA-7100 processors: HP 9000 715/33, 715/50 and 715/75 were an early-1990s design and still marketed under the acquired Apollo brand that HP used for a while for workstations. The 715/33 was one of the slowest and worst PA-RISC workstations ever.

The second 715 generation was more modern based on LASI with PA-7100LC CPUs: HP 9000 715/64, 715/80, 715/100 and 100XC were technically close to the pizzabox HP 9000 712 workstations. The 100XC was a rather fast machine for the 1990s. These 715 did not use the Apollo branding anymore.

HP marketed these newer HP 9000/715 as supporting bi-endian switching for current and future operating systems, probably a reference to aborted Windows NT on PA-RISC plans. Billed by HP with an easy installation, upgradability, expansion, and serviceability, the 715 were indeed were handy Unix workstations for the 1990s.

The 715 were quite versatile computers sold at an attractive price point at the time that were often re-used at their companies for secondary Unix server or development roles, after their primary use like engineering and graphics was taken over by newer models or Windows NT computers.

After their second life at companies, many 715 were re-sold and found their way into growing open source RISC projects, becoming widely available there in the early to mid-2000s. They were a popular cornerstone of the 2000s hobbyist and open source scene and an affordable entry point into RISC and Unix workstations.

System architecture

Processors

Chipset

715/33, 50 and 75

First version of 715 workstations with older architecture.

• ASP chipset

• Viper memory and I/O controller

• NCR 53C700 8-bit single-ended SCSI-2

• Intel 82596DX 10 Mbit Ethernet controller

• Intel 82350 EISA bus adapter chipset (EISA to GSC)

• CRX graphics, 8-bit

• Audit 16-bit CS4215 CODEC

• Other I/O (serial, parallel, i8042)

715/64, 80 and 100

Second version of 715 workstations with modernized architecture.

• LASI chipset, integrated

• NCR 53C710 8-bit single-ended SCSI-2

• Intel 82596CA 10 Mbit Ethernet controller

• Harmony CD/DAT quality 16-bit stereo audio

• Wax for EISA bridge, HP-HIL

• Artist graphics, 8-bit

• Other I/O like serial, parallel, HP-HIL, Floppy

» View a system-level ASCII-illustration of the chipset on the 715/64, 715/80 and 715/100.

System buses

• GSC system level I/O bus

• EISA additional expansion I/O bus

• SCSI-2 single-ended narrow bus

• 715/33, 55, 75 PBus processor/memory bus

• 715/33, 55, 75 VSC main system bus

• 715/33, 55, 75 SGC expansion of the mainbus to the SGC expansion card

Memory

• 72-pin ECC SIMMs

• Eight sockets for 8-32 MB modules

• 715/33 6 memory sockets

• 16 MB to 192 MB (6×32) or 256 MB (8×32) supported

Expansion slots

• 715/33, 55, 75 One slot for SGC (EISA formfactor) cards

• 715/64, 80, 100 One slot for GSC (EISA formfactor) cards

• With a special HP adapter EISA cards can be used in the GSC or SGC slots

Often marketed and used as graphics workstations, the HP 9000 715 were often sold with HP graphics adapters like the HCRX for 2D or the high-performance CRX-48Z for 3D.

Storage

• Two SCSI 3.5″ Fast-Narrow SE 50-pin hard drives

• SCSI half-height 5.25″ Fast-Narrow SE 50-pin drive, externally accessible

External ports

• SCSI-2 50-pin single-ended Fast-Narrow

• Two serial RS232C DB9 (up to 115200 baud)

• Parallel DB25

• Ethernet AUI 15-pin

• VGA HD15

• 715/33, 55, 75 HP-HIL connector for input devices

• 715/64, 80, 100 SMD-10 connector, to connect HIL and PS2

• Four phone jacks (microphone, headphones and line-in and ?)

Operating systems

• HP-UX 9.05 10.20, 11.00 and 11i v1 (the last two only on 64, 80 and 100)

• NeXTSTEP

• Linux

• OpenBSD

• NetBSD

• Research: HPBSD

• Research: Mach 4/Lites

• Research: MkLinux

• Research: OSF MK-PA

Benchmarks

The 715 were actively marketed against the Unix workstation competition of the 1990s, with several example benchmarks given:

References

•  Model 715 Service Handbook, Hewlett Packard 1995, A2600–90039 (PARISC-Linux archive)

•  Quick Reference Guide HP 9000 715 Workstations, Hewlett Packard 4/1994, 5962-9710LE (1000bit.it archive)

• HP UNIX Workstations and Netstations ( mirror), Hewlett-Packard Company (1997: mirror accessed January 2024)

• HP 9000 Models 715/64, 715/80, 715/100, and 715/100XC Workstations, HP Workstation Group ( mirror), Hewlett-Packard Company (1997: mirror accessed January 2024)