Editing SGI Visual Workstation (section)

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{{short description|Series of workstation computers}}
{{Infobox computer
| name = SGI Visual Workstation
| discontinued = January 2002
| related = 
| successor = 
| predecessor = 
| dimensions = 
| weight = 
| os = [[Windows NT 4.0]], [[Windows 2000]]
| slots = 
| processor = [[Pentium II]], [[Pentium III]], [[Xeon]]
| memory = 128 MB–2 GB
| graphics = [[Quadro]] 2
| releasedate = {{Start date and age|August 1999}}
| aka = 
| manufacturer = 
| developer = [[Silicon Graphics]]
| designfirm = 
| type = [[Workstation]]
| caption = SGI Visual Workstation 540
| image_size = 160px
| image = Sgi-540 01.jpg
| logo = 
| logo_caption = 
| logo-size = 
| baseprice = 
| website = [https://web.archive.org/web/19991128234017mp_/http://visual.sgi.com/ 320 and 540]<br>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000817070025/http://www.sgi.com/workstations/vw_overview.html 230, 330, and 550]
}}

'''SGI Visual Workstation''' is a series of [[workstation]] computers that are designed and manufactured by [[Silicon Graphics|SGI]]. Unlike its other product lines, which used the 64-bit [[MIPS architecture|MIPS]] [[RISC]] architecture, the line used [[Intel]] [[Pentium II]] and [[Pentium III|III]] processors and shipped with [[Windows NT 4.0]] or [[Windows 2000]] as its operating system instead of [[IRIX]]. However, the Visual Workstation 320 and 540 models deviated from the [[IBM PC compatible|architecture of IBM-compatible PCs]] by using SGI's [[ARCS (computing)|ARCS]] [[firmware]] instead of a traditional [[BIOS]], internal components adapted from its MIPS-based products, and other proprietary components that made them incompatible with internal hardware designed for standard PCs and hence unable to run other versions of [[Microsoft Windows]], especially [[Windows 9x]]. By contrast, the remaining models in the line are standard PCs, using [[VIA Technologies]] chipsets, [[Nvidia]] video cards, and standard components.