NI PXI-8183 is an embedded PXI/CompactPCI system controller that NI documents as a PXI 3U form-factor modular PC for controlling a PXI chassis. The official manual identifies it as a primary system controller rather than an accessory, making it suitable where an embedded controller is required instead of a remote-control interface. NI’s documentation states an 850 MHz processor and describes the CPU implementation with a Socket 370 design using the Intel Pentium III processor family socket definition, but the official sources provided do not confirm any narrower CPU branding such as Celeron.
For connectivity, NI documents the PXI-8183 with front-panel and rear-access PC-style interfaces including video, one RS-232 serial port, one IEEE 1284 parallel port, two USB ports, 10/100 Ethernet, and PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports. The serial interface is identified as a 16550 COM1 port, and the video connector is a 15-pin D-SUB VGA connection. NI also lists a reset pushbutton, POWER OK LED, and DRIVE LED on the controller.
The storage and memory architecture described by NI includes an internal 2.5-inch hard drive rated at 40 GB or greater with ATA-100/ATA-5 (UDMA 100) support. Memory is based on PC100 SO-DIMM SDRAM, and the manual’s block diagram states support for up to 512 MB. NI also lists compatible SO-DIMM upgrade module types of 256 MB and 512 MB, both specified at 7.5 ns.
