What Your IBM Personal Computer Offers
This section describes many of the features of your computer.
Support for Pentium Pro Microprocessors
At the core of your PC is an Intel Pentium Pro microprocessor. With its advanced
performance features, this microprocessor supplies the speed and power you need
to take advantage of even the most complex programs.
Your computer supports dual microprocessors, which means that you can upgrade
processor performance by adding a second microprocessor to the system board.
When you add a second microprocessor, the internal and external speeds of the
second microprocessor must be equivalent to those of the primary microprocessor.
ISA Bus
Your PC has an ISA (industry standard architecture) bus, which is one of the most
widely used and successful I/O (input/output) buses available. The ISA bus is
popular because so many adapters and devices have been designed and marketed
for it.
PCI Bus
Your computer also has a PCI (peripheral component interconnect) bus. PCI is one
of the advanced I/O bus standards recently developed by the computer industry to
keep up with performance improvements of processor buses and advanced
peripheral devices. The PCI bus adds to the capability of the ISA bus, speeding up
the exchange of information among the microprocessor and peripheral devices
within your computer system. This improves the overall performance of your
computer, including the monitor and the hard disk drives.
Expansion with Adapters
Your computer has an ISA/PCI riser card for installing optional adapters. By
installing adapters, you can expand the capabilities of your PC and take advantage
of a variety of peripheral devices and applications. Examples of adapters that can
be added to your computer include graphics, SCSI (small computer system
interface), and LAN (local area network) adapters.
2Using Your Personal Computer