<s>
NiTro-VLB	O
was	O
a	O
computer	O
system	O
that	O
used	O
a	O
QED	O
R4600	B-Device
microprocessor	B-Architecture
implemented	O
on	O
a	O
VESA	O
Local	O
Bus	O
peripheral	O
card	O
and	O
designed	O
to	O
function	O
when	O
connected	O
to	O
a	O
host	O
computer	O
system	O
using	O
an	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
i486	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NiTro-VLB	O
conformed	O
to	O
the	O
ARC	B-Device
standard	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
produced	O
and	O
marketed	O
by	O
ShaBLAMM	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
as	O
an	O
"	O
upgrade	O
"	O
card	O
for	O
accelerating	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
system	O
was	O
marketed	O
as	O
an	O
"	O
upgrade	O
"	O
for	O
computers	O
already	O
using	O
a	O
486	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
NiTro-VLB	O
was	O
in	O
fact	O
of	O
an	O
entirely	O
different	O
architecture	O
(	O
specifically	O
,	O
the	O
MIPS	B-Device
architecture	I-Device
)	O
from	O
the	O
IA32-based	O
486	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
parasitic	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
symbiotic	O
"	O
coprocessor	B-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
NiTro-VLB	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
co-opt	O
the	O
host	O
486	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
from	O
running	O
,	O
and	O
used	O
four	O
megabytes	O
of	O
the	O
host	O
486	B-General_Concept
motherboard	O
's	O
system	O
memory	O
as	O
a	O
DMA	B-General_Concept
buffer	O
(	O
although	O
the	O
NiTro-VLB	O
required	O
its	O
own	O
separate	O
DRAM	O
main	O
memory	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
any	O
memory	O
installed	O
on	O
the	O
host	O
486	B-General_Concept
motherboard	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
configurations	O
are	O
rare	O
among	O
computer	O
systems	O
designed	O
to	O
run	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NiTro-VLB	O
'	O
s	O
QED	O
R4600	B-Device
processor	O
,	O
running	O
at	O
100	O
MHz	O
,	O
was	O
rated	O
at	O
73.8	O
SPECint92	O
and	O
63	O
SPECfp92	O
(	O
which	O
are	O
similar	O
figures	O
to	O
the	O
first-generation	O
Pentium	B-General_Concept
running	O
at	O
66	O
MHz	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
,	O
the	O
NiTro-VLB	O
system	O
was	O
priced	O
at	O
$	O
1,095	O
for	O
a	O
100	O
MHz	O
card	O
with	O
no	O
main	O
memory	O
,	O
$	O
1,995	O
for	O
a	O
100	O
MHz	O
card	O
with	O
16	O
MB	O
of	O
main	O
memory	O
and	O
a	O
copy	O
of	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
,	O
and	O
$	O
2,595	O
for	O
a	O
150	O
MHz	O
card	O
.	O
</s>
