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ND-5850

The fastest Rallar, and the last Norsk Data processor.
Introduced 1990 [?] (sources also say 1987)
Type Model of ND-5000, CPU type 4
Word length 32-bit
Needs a host? Yes - needs an ND-120
Replaced ND-5800
Replaced by -
Survivors 7 on the machine list (3 dismantled, 4 unknown)

The short version

The last processor Norsk Data sold, and one of the longest-lived: ND-5850 systems were still being upgraded and delivered to Norsk Tipping, NSB, Statskraft and Stavanger Aftenblad in 1998, and a new satellite went to a customer in February 2000 - eight years after the company itself had ended.

Sources disagree on when it arrived: both Wikipedias say 1987, the norsk-data.com timeline says 1990. The Dolphin chips in it are dated 1989.

Specification

Item Value
CPU type 4 (Rallar), as ND-5830
Gate arrays KUSK, GAMP and DSB - Dolphin chips
Clock 25 or 45 MHz
Local memory Up to 64 MB on the CPU assembly
Still running Deliveries and upgrades recorded through 1998-2000
Date dispute 1987 (both Wikipedias) against 1990 (norsk-data.com timeline) [?]

What was new

  • The end of the line - the last ND processor, built by the spin-off company.
  • Like the ND-5830, it is an improved Samson rather than a new machine: same functionality, fewer boards, better ASICs.

Sources

Full context: MACHINE-TIMELINE.md.