Specifications
- Rack-mount HP c8000 workstation
- 2× Dual-core 1.1GHz PA-8900s, each with 64MB L2 cache
- 32 GB ECC Registered RAM (8× 4GB PC2700 DIMMs)
- 2× Seagate Cheetah 15K.5 300GB Ultra 320 SCSI Drives (ST3300655LC) in RAID 1
Like nearly all my other pet computers, I purchased this from eBay. I was pleased to get the rackmount version and especially so since the auction said it included the mounting rails which are often discarded when the computer is taken out of service.
When it arrived, there were no rails. I contacted the seller, fully expecting that the auction listing had been incorrect and that I was not going to ever get what I wanted. Fortunately, the rails did actually exist and had just been misplaced. The seller said he'd ship them to me, so problem solved... until I opened the package and discovered only the inner rails (the parts that attach to the computer). I was still missing the outer rails that attach to the rack.
After a bunch of searching the internet, I discovered that some other HP systems of the era (specifically: RP3410, RP3440, ZX2000, ZX6000, but probably others as well) use the same rail kits, and there just so happened to be a set of only the outer rails for sale on eBay for $28 shipped. They were probably priced so low because obviously no one wants just the outer rails!
The datasheet says that the c8000 can have a maximum of 32GB of DDR RAM. There are eight slots, so 4GB DDR DIMMs are needed to reach full capacity. I wasn't sure 4GB DDR DIMMs had ever been produced, but in fact they had, seemingly just for systems like this.
Amazingly, I found a lot of six 4GB PC2700 DIMMs for an insanely low price on eBay. I contacted the seller and offered slightly more money for eight DIMMs and he agreed—$27 shipped!
Truthfully, 32GB is far more than I need in this system. It probably just increases how much electricity the system wastes (380W according to my Kill A Watt), but I think if you're going to put together such an absurd computer in 2017 you might as well go all out.
I was worried after reading some posts on the linux-parisc@ mailing list that I might not be able to upgrade the CPUs without an HP support contract. Fortunately this turned out to be false, and the extent of my difficulties upgrading the single low-spec PA-8800 CPU to two top-spec PA-8900s was finding appropriate tools. To install CPUs you need a T15 security torx screwdriver and a long 2.5mm allen wrench. In particular, finding a 2.5mm allen wrench that is long enough to go through the entire CPU heatsink down to the motherboard is difficult. I eventually found the Bondhus 17154 allen wrench, which is 112mm long and even it would not work if it was a millimeter shorter! An L-style torx wrench proved useful as well, as the edge of the case overhangs some of the torx screws, preventing the usage of a standard screwdriver without removing the entire motherboard from the case.
There are CPU temperature sensors exposed via IPMI. One of my CPUs stays around 63°C while the other stays at 93°C, a fact I find worrisome. I tried a variety of tests to rule out the fans, the heatsinks, the thermal paste, the voltage regulator modules, and even the CPU sockets (assuming the temperature sensor is not part of the CPU which it likely is). The only thing I can figure at this point is that the thermal epoxy between the CPU die and the heat spreader is somehow bad and insulates the die. Unfortunately my experiments trying remove the heat spreader from the PA-8800 CPU that came with the c8000 ended with half the CPU die still epoxied to a now detached heat spreader, so I'm not planning any further experiments of that sort.
All in all, I'm pretty pleased to have put together this system for less than $500.
| Part | Paid | Date |
|---|---|---|
| HP c8000 | $205 | Jan 2017 |
| 2× 1.1GHz PA-8900 CPUs | €198 ($220) | March 2017 |
| 8× 4GB DIMMs | $27 | March 2017 |
| Rails | $28 | June 2018 |
Information Menu: Enter command > all
Model: hp workstation c8000 (model string 9000/785/C8000)
PROCESSOR INFORMATION
HVERSION SVERSION Processor
Processor Speed Model Model/Op CVERSION State
--------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------------
0 1100 MHz 0x089c 0x0491 4.1 Active
1 1100 MHz 0x089c 0x0491 4.1 Idle
2 1100 MHz 0x089c 0x0491 4.1 Idle
3 1100 MHz 0x089c 0x0491 4.1 Idle
Central Bus Speed (in MHz) : 200
Software ID (dec) : -1732169109
Software ID (hex) : 0x98c1326b
Software Capability : 0x01f0
COPROCESSOR INFORMATION
Coprocessor Coprocessor Coprocessor
Processor Model Revision State
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------------
0 0x00000014 1 Functional
1 0x00000014 1 Functional
2 0x00000014 1 Functional
3 0x00000014 1 Functional
CACHE INFORMATION
Processor Instruction Cache Size Data Cache Size
----------- ----------------------- ---------------
0 768 KB 768 KB
1 768 KB 768 KB
2 768 KB 768 KB
3 768 KB 768 KB
Processors Shared I/D Cache Size
------------ ---------------------
0/1 64 MB
2/3 64 MB
MEMORY INFORMATION
MEMORY STATUS TABLE (MB) (Current Boot Status)
Slot 0a 4096M Active
Slot 0b 4096M Active
Slot 1a 4096M Active
Slot 1b 4096M Active
Slot 2a 4096M Active
Slot 2b 4096M Active
Slot 3a 4096M Active
Slot 3b 4096M Active
Subtotal 32768M
TOTAL = 32768 MB
---------
Memory Installation Guidelines
------------------------------
- For DIMMs to work, both DIMMs in a slot pair (a/b) must be the same type.
(Same part number = same type)
- For proper cooling, install DIMMs in the following order:
0a/b 1a/b 2a/b 3a/b.
Active, Installed Memory : 32768 MB of SDRAM
Deallocated Pages : 0 Pages
-----------
Available Memory : 32768 MB
Good Memory Required by OS : Not initialized. Defaults to 32 MB.
Memory
HVERSION SVERSION
-------- ----------
0x0b60 0x00000900
I/O MODULE INFORMATION
Path Slot IODC
Type (dec) Number HVERSION SVERSION Vers
---- ----- ------ -------- -------- ----
System bus adapter 0 0x8800 0xc10 0x0
Local bus adapter 0/0 7 0x7830 0xa00 0x0
Local bus adapter 0/2 56 0x7830 0xa00 0x0
Local bus adapter 0/3 124 0x7830 0xa00 0x0
Local bus adapter 0/4 3 0x7840 0xa00 0x0
PCI DEVICE INFORMATION
Path Path Vendor Device Slot
Description (mnemonic) (dec) Id Id #
--------------------- ---------- ------------- ------ ------ ----
Ethernet cntlr lan7 0/0/1/0 0x14e4 0x1645 7
SCSI bus cntlr scsiA 0/2/1/0 0x1000 0x0030 core
SCSI bus cntlr scsiB 0/2/1/1 0x1000 0x0030 core
USB usb0 0/3/1/0 0x1033 0x0035 core
USB usb1 0/3/1/1 0x1033 0x0035 core
USB 0/3/1/2 0x1033 0x00e0 core
IDE cntlr ide 0/3/2/0 0x1095 0x0680 core
Ethernet cntlr lan 0/3/3/0 0x8086 0x100e core
Comp. ser cntlr serial_A 17 N/A N/A core
Comp. ser cntlr serial_B 18 N/A N/A core
BOOT INFORMATION
Processor Boot ID
--------- -------
0 2
1 2
2 2
3 2
Autoboot: ON
Autosearch: ON
Autostart: ON
Fastboot: OFF
Primary boot path: scsiA.6
0/2/1/0.6
0/02/01/0.6 (hex)
Alternate boot path: lan.0.0.0.0
0/3/3/0
0/03/03/0.0 (hex)
Console path: serial_A.643
17.643
11.283 (hex)
Keyboard path: usb0
0/3/1/0.0
0/03/01/0.0 (hex)
Keyboard path ignored for serial consoles.
LAN Station Address: 001321-1a6632
Wed Apr 5 19:09:52 GMT 2017 (20:17:04:05:19:09:52)
FIRMWARE INFORMATION
Firmware Version: 2.13
BMC Version: 02.32
FRU INFORMATION
Module Revision
------ --------
PA 8900 CPU Module 4.1
PA 8900 CPU Module 4.1
PA 8900 CPU Module 4.1
PA 8900 CPU Module 4.1
MEMORY AND IO CHIP REVISION INFORMATION
---------------------------------------
Chip Path Device Chip
Type (dec) ID Revision
------------------- ------- ------ --------
Memory Controller 0 122b 0023
System Bus Adapter 0 1229 0023
Local Bus Adapter 0/0 122e 0032
Local Bus Adapter 0/2 122e 0032
Local Bus Adapter 0/3 122e 0032
Local Bus Adapter 0/4 12b4 0010
$ cat /proc/cpuinfo processor : 0 cpu family : PA-RISC 2.0 cpu : PA8900 (Shortfin) cpu MHz : 1100.000000 capabilities : os64 iopdir_fdc needs_equivalent_aliasing (0x35) model : 9000/785/C8000 model name : Crestone Peak Mako+ Fast hversion : 0x000089c0 sversion : 0x00000491 I-cache : 65536 KB D-cache : 65536 KB (WB, direct mapped) ITLB entries : 240 DTLB entries : 240 - shared with ITLB bogomips : 2189.31 software id : 6267540911694099051 processor : 1 cpu family : PA-RISC 2.0 cpu : PA8900 (Shortfin) cpu MHz : 1100.000000 capabilities : os64 iopdir_fdc needs_equivalent_aliasing (0x35) model : 9000/785/C8000 model name : Crestone Peak Mako+ Fast hversion : 0x000089c0 sversion : 0x00000491 I-cache : 65536 KB D-cache : 65536 KB (WB, direct mapped) ITLB entries : 240 DTLB entries : 240 - shared with ITLB bogomips : 2189.31 software id : 6267540911694099051 processor : 2 cpu family : PA-RISC 2.0 cpu : PA8900 (Shortfin) cpu MHz : 1100.000000 capabilities : os64 iopdir_fdc needs_equivalent_aliasing (0x35) model : 9000/785/C8000 model name : Crestone Peak Mako+ Fast hversion : 0x000089c0 sversion : 0x00000491 I-cache : 65536 KB D-cache : 65536 KB (WB, direct mapped) ITLB entries : 240 DTLB entries : 240 - shared with ITLB bogomips : 2189.31 software id : 6267540911694099051 processor : 3 cpu family : PA-RISC 2.0 cpu : PA8900 (Shortfin) cpu MHz : 1100.000000 capabilities : os64 iopdir_fdc needs_equivalent_aliasing (0x35) model : 9000/785/C8000 model name : Crestone Peak Mako+ Fast hversion : 0x000089c0 sversion : 0x00000491 I-cache : 65536 KB D-cache : 65536 KB (WB, direct mapped) ITLB entries : 240 DTLB entries : 240 - shared with ITLB bogomips : 2189.31 software id : 6267540911694099051
