Regarding VRMs for the second CPU:

Visualize P-Class use special 5V VRMs, apparently like some HP NetServer, Kayak and also some Dell.
http://www.chris-winter.com/Digressions/HP_Ka … k/Volt-Reg.html

It seems at least HP # 0950-2837 and 0950-3310 might work.

Except for the Black Colored case it looks identical to the HP Kayak XU.
Except the XU came with dual pentium-II @ 400mhz

But I upgraded mine with Dual Pentium-III @500mhz.

I think thats what you want to do to yours.

So the VRM from the XU should work in your computer too.
I am pretty sure the motherboard is the same with onboard SCSI controller.
I have a couple XU in my garage and a XAs

These were great computers back in late 1990’s running Win98 or WinNT 4.0
They also ran Win2000 but you needed a special driver for Audio and Multimedia Keyboard.

I dont think HP Officially supported these computers in Win2000

There is a motherboard onsale on eBay with the CPU’s and VRMs

HP just rebranded Kayak XA and XU at some point into HP Visualize, they seem close or identical. Thanks for the link, that motherboard indeed looks like it.

An HP supported them until Win2000 - there were a few drivers supplied by HP.

visualize fx2+, fx4+, fx6+ 03/05/01 [fx0002.11.w2k] (certified)
ELSA SynergyII 03/05/01 [5.12.10.236]
multimedia keyboard driver multimedia keyboard driver 02/15/00 [2.08]
scrolling mouse driver scrolling mouse driver 07/12/00 [9.0.99]

Will check for sound driver.
Also I think I found a VRM that should fit from a NetServer.

What do you use your SMP Kayaks for?

VLIW wrote on 2024-09-05, 19:55:

HP just rebranded Kayak XA and XU at some point into HP Visualize, they seem close or identical. Thanks for the link, that mothe […]
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HP just rebranded Kayak XA and XU at some point into HP Visualize, they seem close or identical. Thanks for the link, that motherboard indeed looks like it.

An HP supported them until Win2000 - there were a few drivers supplied by HP.

visualize fx2+, fx4+, fx6+ 03/05/01 [fx0002.11.w2k] (certified)
ELSA SynergyII 03/05/01 [5.12.10.236]
multimedia keyboard driver multimedia keyboard driver 02/15/00 [2.08]
scrolling mouse driver scrolling mouse driver 07/12/00 [9.0.99]

Will check for sound driver.
Also I think I found a VRM that should fit from a NetServer.

What do you use your SMP Kayaks for?

These were my everyday workstations at home.

Second VRM for the second Pentium III is on its way.

Video-wise, I am gonna go with a GeForce4 MX 460 which should fit in well with the Slot 1 Katmai.

I love my dual slot 1, its pretty much a 1 stop retro rig

Dual 600 Katmai's
768 MB Ram
GF2 MX
Voodoo 2 SLI
Audigy 2 ZS
AWE64

I do most my Win9x gaming in Win2k, I was presently surprised how many games worked out of the box, and windows is sooooo much more stable.
Win98 is for the few games that don't like Win2k, and also give me access to dos mode for a powerful dos rig.

Storage I used up some smaller capacity SCSI drives I had spare but really I think IDE would be enough. either SSD with SATA adapter or spinning rust is personal taste.
The SMP + SLI setup is just for extra sex appeal

and here is a bit of fun exclusive to the SMP club
quake3 SMP-scaling thread…

Nice setup chinny22, I have a very similar plan with the Visualize P500.

Instead of the SLIs I will stick with the GF4 MX 460, which I hope should be enough-ish for DX7 on Win 2000.

Congrats!

P/P2/P3 was the special time period for PC workstations when work, not gaming was the high end.

VLIW wrote on 2024-09-05, 19:55:

HP just rebranded Kayak XA and XU at some point into HP Visualize, they seem close or identical. Thanks for the link, that motherboard indeed looks like it.

After quite some time looking through HP docs, I think it is incorrect.

XA were lower end models and there were XU models after your machine and before merger with Compaq that ended Kayaks/x86 Visualizes era with X-1000/X-2000/X-4000 three-tier workstations:

• XU800 P3 Coppermine that I have, link in signature
• XU700 P4 (which I suspect very few were produced since mentions of the system are very few)

I do not have hard evidence, but it is most likely that P-class and X-class Visualize workstations were successors of Kayak XW machines, which were basically XU + more exotic graphics cards.
HP was trying to push into high-end OpenGL graphics space for CADs with PA-RISC based Visualize FX* cards and thus probably decided to move PA-RISC branding to x86 alongside them.
Little did they know that gaming will be the driver for high end of the graphics cards, not CAD.

What do you use your SMP Kayaks for?

Add second CPU to them, like you are doing. This is the sacred ritual. Make your workstation whole.

Yes the XAs was a single slot-1 BX 440 motherboard that supported Intel Pentium-II CPUs ( 400 & 500 mhz )
The XU was a Dual Slot-1 BX 440 motherboard that Supported Pentium-II ( 400 & 600 mhz CPU )
Both could be upgraded with Pentium-III 500mhz CPUs Offically.

I am not sure about any othe CPU upgrade.

I put a Matrox G450 Dual head video card in mine to run dual 20-inch Sony monitors.
Worked great with Win NT 4.0 and Win-2000.
I think I had 512mb of RAM and Dual Seagate Cheetah SCSI 4gb hard drives.

Finally got around to upgrading the Visualize P500.

Second P3 slot 1 plus separate VRM worked well. After starting, the second CPU was detected by BIOS.
I used an HP 0950-3640 VRM, which works fine.

My P500 has only three RAM slots, some apparently have four + also onboard SCSI, which mine does not have.
The 256MB IBM RAM sticks I procured did not work, however.

Next: Install Windows 2000 + add a CF2IDE.

The kayak XU has 4 ram slots and onboard SCSI
The Kayak XAs has 3 ram slots and NO SCSI.
But HP made a SCSI adapter card for these Kayaks too
I think they use PC-1333 Memory sticks
128mb or 256mb sticks

HP P500 Visualize use HP PC100 ECC registered SDRAM

Yeah, but I think it will work with SDRAM PC-1333 , NON ECC
That's what I have in my Kayak XU computers with Dual Pentium-III @ 500mhz each
I have the BX440 chipset motherboards with on board SCSI

The 440BX chipset is picky when it comes to RAM, especially if some BIOS stuff only allows for ECC. Usually, though it's more of it only detecting half of it. But I can't for the love of anything find that browser tab now ... 🙁

The IBM RAM that I tried matched the specifications -- PC100, registered ECC (256MB). BIOS refused to use it though.

The earlier (BX-based) datasheet quotes 128MB DIMM and 256MB DIMM 100MHz ECC...

...but the later 133MHz bus version only states utilizes affordable 133MHz SDRAM for more cost-effective large memory implementations

Thanks for that! Indeed the later p-class with RCC ServerWorks ServerSet used different RAM.

Well back in 1993 thru 97 I worked at Computer education centers were we taught WinNT 4.0 Server
We had hundreds of workstations computers. Many by IBM and HP
A class would last a week and then we would have to reinstall all the computers again for the next class with all the specific software.
We had an Automated program we would use that could re-image the hard drives over the network in just minutes.
We could install 30 computers in 5 minutes over a 10base-T Ethernet Network.
So I have performed thousands of Win NT Workstation and Server installs.
I helped build this Install server and create all the hard drive images we would distribute over the Network installs.
I used a cheap HP Netserver with Pentium 90mhz CPU and 32mb of Memory. SCSI controller with 8 4gb hard drives in RAID configuration.
This is the computer we used to push out all the hard drive images over the Network
It was running WinNT 4.0
I think it probably did have Ecc memory but it is NOT required.

Some of these computers used SDRAM and some used ECC RAM
We used Pentium 90 and 100mhz computers.

We Never had a problem with the Memory and we taught Heavy Memory programs to like Oracle Database, Back up software, and Network management software and Cluster Servers too.

When I purchased my Kayak XU and XAs computers they came with SDRAM from HP. I don’t think it was ECC but it might have been
I do remember it was PC-100

But anyways, I never ran into a problem running Non-ecc Memory with Windows NT
I think you’re more likely to get malware or virus or hard drive corruption than to get a Memory error.

For Windows NT workstation or Server Ecc memory is NOT a requirement
For computer gaming it not necessary.

We also taught x86 UNIX on PCs and Never had a problem with NON ECC Memory.
Thousands of UNIX Network installs using jumpstart and hard drive images.

I think you’re right. My HP Kayaks did originally come with PC100 ECC Memory.
I am just saying Ecc memory is NOT a Requirement of Windows NT.
Just look at all the Server crashes in history up until this day which are caused by Malware or Viruses.
Even Antivirus software causing servers to Crash.

I think today’s Antivirus software is the BIGGEST threat to computer servers.

Just ask John McAfee ( R.I.P )
Maybe that is Why Intel Purchased McAfee software.

In my search for HP manuals I do not remember finding any Intel Visualize Service Handbooks.

There is however Technical Reference Manual for Katmai P-Class :

According to it (Page 48) 256Mb modules should be registered ECC. 128Mb max for non-ECC.
Note also discussion on CAS latency. It doesn't say directly, but it could be that CAS 2 is required.

You know, when you were purchasing an HP workstation, you were getting HP memory as well so
like they didn't even imagine you were using alien memory when writing manuals.
Enterprise stuff.

P.S. If there would be a service handbook for P-Class, the highest chance for it to be here: umlib.com
The site is pretty broken, needing some JS/URL hacking to download any manual not first in the list.
But in my search for XU800 manuals this had some version that had original HP filename which was
long gone from HP web site. I could not get into section for P-Class or PL- or X- or XL- due to the way
they used '/' in section name breaking URL generation so far. Maybe someone else could?