• 1990

Hardware Description

In July 1990, NEC announced a general-purpose computer, the ACOS System 3800, which was the fastest in the world at the time. Using a single processor, this machine achieved performance about 2.7 times better than the ACOS System 1500 Series by using innovations such as 20,000-gate logic VLSI with a delay time per gate of 70 picoseconds, bipolar RAM with an access time of 1.6 nanoseconds, 1-megabit SRAM, 4-megabit DRAM and other LSI, high-density mounting technology for installing 100 VLSI on a large ceramic board of 22.5 centimeters square, and sophisticated bipolar technology incorporating an independently developed branch prediction mechanism and bypass mechanism.