Editing ShaBLAMM! NiTro-VLB

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The '''ShaBLAMM! NiTro-VLB''' was a computer system that used a [[Quantum Effect Devices|QED]] [[R4600]] [[microprocessor]] implemented on a [[VESA Local Bus]] peripheral card and designed to function when connected to a host computer system using an [[Intel]] [[i486]].  The NiTro-VLB conformed to the [[Advanced RISC Computing|ARC]] standard, and was produced and marketed by [[ShaBLAMM! Computer]] as an "upgrade" card for accelerating [[Windows NT]].

==Characteristics==
The NiTro-VLB is notable for various unique characteristics among personal computer accessories.  For example, although the system was marketed as an "upgrade" for computers already using a 486 processor, the NiTro-VLB was in fact of an entirely different architecture (specifically, the [[MIPS architecture]]) from the [[IA32]]-based 486.  Further, as a "parasitic" or "symbiotic" [[coprocessor]], the NiTro-VLB was designed to co-opt the host 486 processor from running, and used four megabytes of the host 486 motherboard's system memory as a [[direct memory access|DMA]] buffer (although the NiTro-VLB required its own separate [[DRAM]] [[main memory]], in addition to any memory installed on the host 486 motherboard).{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} 

This is a type of "parasite"/"host" upgrade card configuration, in which an entire motherboard and processor are implemented on an expansion card designed to connect to a host motherboard's expansion slot.  Such configurations are rare among computer systems designed to run [[Microsoft Windows]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

==Specifications and benchmarks==
The NiTro-VLB's QED [[R4600]] processor, running at 100 MHz, was rated at 73.8 SPECint92 and 63 SPECfp92 (which are similar figures to the first-generation [[Intel P5 (microarchitecture)|Pentium]] running at 66 MHz).  Faster and costlier versions were designed to run at 133 MHz or 150 MHz.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

==Sales==
Initially, the NiTro-VLB system was priced at $1,095 for a 100 MHz card with no main memory, $1,995 for a 100 MHz card with 16 MB of main memory and a copy of Windows NT, and $2,595 for a 150 MHz card.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

==See also==
*[[DeskStation Tyne]]
*[[Jazz (computer)]]
*[[MIPS Magnum]]

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041210001838/http://www.byte.com/art/9407/sec4/art9.htm A BYTE magazine article detailing the ShaBlamm! Nitro-VLB]

[[Category:Computer workstations]]
[[Category:Advanced RISC Computing]]