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I joined this community a while ago in search of an SGI workstation. I lost pursuit of my goal to obtain one for a while, but a recent post on craigslist near me for an Octane2 provoked my interest once more. I PM'd a few people who I knew were experienced SGI people, and they all had interesting insights.

So here is what I would get for $300 (the seller came down from $400)


The benefits for me in this situation is that the seller offered to deliver it to me, and I do not have any sort of monitor or keyboard in my college dorm (I ponder how a CRT could fit in it)- so that would eliminate the need to purchase one elsewhere. However, it does not include a CD Drive, and I am wondering why this Octane2 has been downgraded so severely from what it originally came with.

Here are some photos that the seller has sent me:



So essentially: Should I purchase this? If not, does any one have an Octane2 or a lower-end Fuel that they would sell for a reasonable price (preferably local)? I know that there is a man in the VA suburbs who QuicksilverG4 is helping that has a few Octane2s.

Any feedback will be appreciated.
Thanks for your time.

Well, I would.

But do you have the cash to spare..?
Are you seeing a lot of workstations coming up for sale in your area...?

If you answer yes and no, to the above questions go for it..

Here in Australia we see a lot less UNIX machines on craigslist, fleabay, trading post, etc.. then you do in the northern hemisphere..

... and since a monitor is coming with it, you won't have to hunt for a sync on green monitor...

I have had a few of those big monitors blow up.. capacitor that keeps one of the holds failed.. and another had a similar issue with a capacitor in a power supply ... but the guy I bought them from didn't store them that well either..


Regan.

Considering that the price includes monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, IRIX CD set, and delivery, it sounds like a fair deal. You could easily spend more than $300 trying to buy all those parts separately on eBay, especially with the cost of shipping.

If that photo is the actual system, then it seems to have VPro graphics. You should check with the seller to be absolutely sure about what you're buying - ask for photos of the system all around, and insist on being able to "test-drive" it before letting him drive away with your $300.

Also, if you're looking for a first SGI system to tinker with and learn IRIX, consider an O2. As has been discussed here several times, an O2 can be a more convenient starter system than an Octane, especially if space is tight.

PM Sent.

Any last advice before I purchase this? I think I am going to try to sell/give away the CRT since I don't have room for it. I am also no longer weary about the lack of cd drive since I have seen how easy DINA makes things.

Another member has a 600MHz Fuel listed in the For Sale Forum for $225. He's on the west coast, so you'd have to pay shipping, but the total should still come in under $300. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=16722806

For roughly the same money you'd get twice the processor speed <with faster memory/SCSI, so more than the obvious 2x linear performance increase>, faster graphics hardware <with texture memory and a DVI interface>, 3x the disk space, and an DVD drive.

I might end up purchasing that Fuel. I keep trying to purchase this system, but they seem to be unable to find time to sell it. I guess I can try to find Irix discs elsewhere.

Can I use a non-SGI keyboard with a fuel?

Is it difficult to find a smaller LCD SoG monitor?

In the northern hemisphere you are spoilt for choice.



Yes.




I don't think it is difficult.
Search the fourms there are a lot of posts about monitors and I think a lot if not most LCDs work with SoG and fuels have DVI output in most common spec V10/V12(?).

The Fuel connects via DVI - so if the monitor also offers a DVI connection SoG shouldn't be an issue.

Can't belive some of the advice your getting here. There are way better deals than $300 for 300Mhz 512mb Octane. You should just wait it out until something shows up near you. I understand it has a few nice extras, but I don't see any of them really adding all that much value. A member on this board was kind enough to sell me a dual 360 octane2 with vpro graphics and 2gb RAM for half that shipped. Also, I just picked a spare Octane 400Mhz MXE+MXI and 2GB RAM here locally by trading a P IV system (which was worth maybe $150), hell he even through in a 21" sgi tube, and a R5k Indy. There are several octanes with 400Mhz Cpus and 2gb RAM on fleabay right now that are $150 shipped. PS/2 kb/mouse and 13W3 to vga adapter and what else do you need? Look around for IRIX, older sets are cheap and you can dl 6.5.22 from SGI.

Don't limit yourself to just an Octane2 until you understand the differences (or lack of), you will find there really isn't that great of a difference in many configs and _zero_ differences in the particular config you are looking at But, you asked for opinions and thats mine. Good luck.

You missed some key words : "near me, will deliver", "has Irix disks" and "complete". Implied is "noobie to SGI."

Ja, it's not a good deal for someone with experience. But you pay to learn, ya know ? You can either pay in time and effort figuring out what you need and hunting it down or you can pay right off in money. Nobody said it was a great deal but TANSTAAFL

The IRIX disks are worth more than the machine - if it's really a complete set (Foundation, etc.). I do worry that a complete "upgrade set" - i.e. no Foundation disks, might get labeled "complete set". If he's got a full set, he's golden.

Otherwise, in a month we'll have to deal with another post about "I'm trying to install Linux on my new Octane...."

Thanks for all the posts. I bought an Octane2 400mhz, 1.5gb ram, 18gb HD( with several more as backup), and full irix cd set (foundations, etc). I forgot what graphics card, but all
this for 75USD.

I bought an adaptor from deep space cables (they make
them correctly so I can use a non-sog monitor, right?) and I am waiting to get that to start installing Irix.

Correct me if I'm wrong...but I thought I just read a post that said Deep Space Cables was dead?

-Jesse

Reports vary...
They seem like Schroedinger's cat...

I thought they were too. Hopefully the aren't....because I sent them $30!

I would email them and see if you get a response in a couple of days. If you do, great, you'll probably get it. If not, be prepared to wait a bit longer and get ready to escalate whichever dispute mechanism you use...PayPal or CC. I assume you didn't mail them anything!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sun-13W3-M-to-HD15- ... _500wt_868

If your planning on using an LCD then list the video type (mgras/vpro) you received in the octane.

I thought "Sun" connectors won't work?

They are visually the same, but not interchangeable...

Some do and some don't there are threads about pulling or cutting pins...
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16722732&p=7316774&hilit=13w3+cut#p7316774


I have some 13W3 cables that only work on SGI and not SUN and some that work on both but most people report SUN cables won't work on SGI. I have the opposite experience to the most commonly reported.

More info in the wiki....
http://www.nekochan.net/wiki/index.php/13W3
http://www.nekochan.net/wiki/index.php/13w3_to_VGA