Out in Front: March 28, 1996

National Instruments is speeding PC-architecture embedded VXI controllers in two ways: First, the company's new CPU based on a 166-MHz Pentium µP operates as fast as a 32-bit Pentium chip in any freestanding PC. Second, this embedded controller follows close on the heels of the availability of desktop PCs that use state-of-the-art CPUs. In other words, desktop-PC technology is quickly migrating to embedded VXI controllers. Embedded controllers remain more expensive than freestanding PCs, however.

You can upgrade a National Instruments VXIpc-850 series controller using a slower CPU to 166 MHz by substituting a $5500 daughtercard for the existing CPU daughtercard. Depending on the benchmark you use, the new controller operates 33 to 50% faster on computation-bound tasks than does a controller that uses a Pentium 100 CPU. Prices for the two-slot, C-sized controller start at $13,995. The unit includes an enhanced-IDE hard-disk drive storing at least 800 Mbytes; 16 to 80 Mbytes of DRAM; a connector that provides 256-color, 1280×1024-pixel SVGA capability; serial, parallel, SCSI-2, and 10-BaseT Ethernet ports; one Type II and one Type III PCMCIA slots; a full-sized slot that accommodates an ISA- or a PCI-bus board; and an internal floppy-disk drive.
—by Dan Strassberg

National Instruments, Austin, TX. (512) 794-0100.