Milpitas, California-based LSI Logic Corp has upgraded its MipSET chip set for the MIPS Computer Systems Inc R3000A RISC to enable systems developers to build high-performance, low-cost computers intended to be fully compliant with the Advanced RISC Computing specification and to run the two Advanced Computing Environment-specified operating systems – Microsoft Corp’s Windows NT and Santa Cruz Operation Inc’s Open Desktop when they become available. The upgraded MipSET runs at 25MHz and is based on the LR3000A CPU and LR3010A Floating Point Accelerator with LSI Logic system chip set announced in 1990. The number of core logic chips has been reduced to six from eight, and the two processor chips are now incorporated in surface-mount packages. The chip set now supports both the LR3000 and the endian-switching LR3000A, and a new LR3208 Video Frame Controller has been added to the set. It drives a 1,024 by 768 by 8-bit terminal consistent with the ARC specification. The nine chip set – LR300A CPU, LR3010A floating point unit, LR3201 reset-interrupt controller, LR3202A L-bus controller, LR3208 Video Frame Controller LR3203 DRAM controller, LR32D04 DRAM data buffer – two needed, and LR3205 block transfer buffer sells for $495 when you buy 10,000-up.
