NEC rolled out Japan’s first servers loaded with Microsoft’s Windows NT 3.5 operating system in November 1994 under the NEC Express 5800 server series. The new series consisted of five models, three running on the R4400 RISC processor licensed from MIPS Technologies (the Express 5800/250, a large, high-performance model, the 240, a mid-range model, and the 230, a compact model) and two running on the Intel Pentium CISC processor (the Express 5800/150, a large-scale model, and the 140, a mid-range model). All models could run Windows NT 3.5, although the 150 and 140 could also run Novell’s NetWare 3.12J network operating system. The servers’ multiprocessor construction with a maximum of four CPUs made it possible to construct large, high-performance systems, connect a diverse range of peripheral devices, and easily build PC network systems. Because of these advantages, the series was used in a wide range of fields, from host computers for small businesses to departmental computers for large enterprises.
| Model | 230 | 240 | 250 | 140 | 150 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | R4400MC (150 MHz) x 1 - 2 | R4400MC (150 MHz) x 1 - 2 | R4400MC (150 MHz) x 1 - 2 | Pentium (100 MHz) x 1 - 2 | Pentium (100 MHz) x 1 - 2 |
| Secondary cache | 512 KB | 2 MB | 2 MB | 512 KB | 512 KB |
| Memory (max.) | 15 MB (384 MB) | 32 MB (512 MB) | 32 MB (768 MB) | 32 MB (768 MB) | 32 MB (768 MB) |
| HDD (internal, max.) | 0 (1 GB x 1) | 0 (1 GB x 14) | 0 (1 GB x 14) | 0 - 1 GB x 2 | 0 - 1 GB x 2 |
| LAN connection | 10BASE-T | 10BASE-T | 10BASE-T | 10BASE5/ 10BASE-T | 10BASE5/ 10BASE-T |
