ND-5900¶
Two, three or four ND-5800 processors in one machine. ND's fastest.
| Introduced | Announced 27 January 1987 |
| Type | Multiprocessor configuration of ND-5000 |
| Word length | 32-bit |
| Needs a host? | Yes - needs an ND-120/CX |
| Replaced | ND-580/CX |
| Replaced by | - |
| Survivors | 2 on the machine list (1 dismantled, 1 unknown) |
The short version¶
The ND-5800 multiplied. Models 2, 3 and 4 carry two, three and four CPUs and give two, three and four times the performance. The four-processor Model 4 is the only ND configuration that beats DEC's top machine of the day on ND's own comparison - about 2.3 times a VAX-8800.
Its "28 MIPS" figure is often quoted as a processor rating. It is not: it is a four-CPU aggregate, and ND's MIPS means Whetstone MIPS, a floating-point measure.
Specification¶
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Models | 2, 3 and 4 - two, three and four CPUs |
| CPU | ND-5800, CPU type 3 |
| I/O processor | ND-120/CX |
| Whetstone MIPS | Mod.2 12-14, Mod.3 18-21, Mod.4 24-28 |
| Against DEC | Mod.4 is about 2.3x a VAX-8800 (11 WMIPS) on ND's own table |
| Common misreading | The 28 figure is four CPUs together, and it is Whetstone, not instructions per second [?] |
What was new¶
- Four 32-bit processors, still fed by one 16-bit I/O processor - the bottleneck at its sharpest.
Sources¶
- Primary:
Reference-Manuals/500/ND-05.020.01 EN ND-5000 Hardware Description.md - Primary: ND-SID001-A1-EN Sales Information Document, Dec 1986, via
SINTRAN/ND5000/ND5000-FAMILY-MODELS-REFERENCE.md - Repo reference:
SINTRAN/ND5000/ND5000-FAMILY-MODELS-REFERENCE.md- primary-based and carefully graded
Full context: MACHINE-TIMELINE.md.