Hardware Wanted

uunix wrote: 8-) You have fans...?

ivelegacy wrote: btw, have you evaluated the last advanced machines ? Octane/fuel ?
maya is heavy for Impact. Be careful about that.

Internet Fate wrote: First of all I am looking for some information. Id someone to give me ideal specs for an Indy/Indigo/Impact that can do the following:
- 3D Modeling/Rendering/Animation/Ect (I've read about Power Animator and how well its been received by individuals who use Irix, although I am more comfortable with Maya, Blender & Autocad)
- Run some kind of video editing software (I've heard that early versions of Premiere run on Irix)
- Run some kind of raster image editor.

- What the most optimal specs on an Indy/Indigo/Impact would be for creating short CG animations on said hardware.

- What versions of software should I be looking for in regards to Maya, Lightwave, Autocad, Houdini, Blender, Premiere, Photoshop ect and how likely will it be to have a usable copy of these programs installed on a machine. (If anyone here has these programs and could help out, PM me!)

I think of old computer hardware in the same way many musicians think of vintage synths or guitars.

• Impact can have a max of 1Gbyte of ram (1), which is very expensive and hard to find, also you may need the Extreme Impact gfx, that is, again, expensive and hard to find
• Octane can have up to 4Gbyte of ram, and Octane2 can have up to 8Gbyte of ram, the gfx goes from Impact/SR to Odissey, it may be easier to find and you can get the whole with a good price with optimal performances

ivelegacy wrote: [*]Impact can have a max of 1Gbyte of ram (1), which is very expensive and hard to find, also you may need the Extreme Impact gfx, that is, again, expensive and hard to find

foetz wrote: a gfx card that's called extreme. that was the top shot before the impact series has been released

• i want the V6 ? i type "modprobe gfx-odissey" (which is usable ONLY for text console purposes, no X11 support)
• i want the Impact/PRO (MSI) ? i type "mod probe gfx-impact-sr.mod" (which can be used for X11 purposes)

Extreme Graphics is a computer graphics architecture for Silicon Graphics computer workstations. Extreme Graphics was developed in 1993 and was available as a high-end graphics option on workstations such as the Indigo2, released during the mid-1990s. Extreme Graphics gives the workstation real-time 2D and 3D graphics rendering capability similar to that of even high-end PCs made many years after Extreme's introduction, with the exception of texture rendering which is performed in |software. Extreme Graphics systems consist of eight Geometry Engines and two Raster Engines, twice as many units as the Elan/XZ graphics used in the Indy, Indigo, and Indigo2. The eight geometry engines are rated at 256 MFLOPS maximum, far faster than the MIPS R4400 CPU used in the workstation.

Extreme Graphics consists of five graphics subsystems: the Command Engine, Geometry Subsystem, Raster Engine, framebuffer and Display Subsystem. [1] Extreme Graphics can produce resolutions up to 1280 x 1024 pixels with 24-bit color and can also process unencoded NTSC and PAL analog television signals. It is reported by the PROM as GU1-Extreme.

The Extreme Graphics architecture was superseded by SGI's IMPACT graphics architecture in 1995.

Graphics
The graphics boards available for the Indigo2 were the pre-IMPACT Newport and Express boards (which included the SGI XL24, SGI XZ, SGI Elan and SGI Extreme) and the MGRAS IMPACT boards (the SGI Solid IMPACT, the SGI High IMPACT, the SGI High IMPACT AA, and the SGI Maximum IMPACT). IMPACT graphics is not supported by the Power Indigo² (R8000 CPU). The Indigo2's replacement, the SGI Octane, offered an upgraded bus but featured the same graphics options, albeit in repackaged form.

ivelegacy wrote: sure, it exists

eats too much energy

he bought a "SolidImpact gfx" (the cheapest one) which fits in 1 slot, eats less energy

and it's a bit easier to be driven.

what i remember about "extreme" comes from here ...

The Extreme Graphics architecture was superseded by SGI's IMPACT graphics architecture in 1995.

the Extreme seems to be related to Indigo2/R4400

the Indigo2/R10k should have the Maximum IMPACT gfx

foetz wrote: also going from extreme to impact requires a new backplane and a new psu so the switch is not cheap at all.

• 1993, January, Indigo 2 systems introduced with R4400 CPU and Extreme graphics
• 1993, 1st half (approx.)Challenge M, L and XL systems with R4400 processor introduced
• 1993, July, XZ and XL graphics announced
• 1995, Indigo 2 systems with Impact graphic s introduced
• 1995, July, R4400 with 250 MHz announced
• 1995, August, Webforce systems announced for September
• 1996, January, R10000 processors for Indigo 2 Impact systems announced
• 1997, September, End of Production (non-Impact)
• 1998, June, End of Production (Impact)
• 2006, December, EOS, End of Service

ivelegacy wrote:

foetz wrote: also going from extreme to impact requires a new backplane and a new psu so the switch is not cheap at all.

why ?

Internet Fate wrote: Hey everyone! It will be pretty obvious after reading this post that I am new to SGI & Irix.
I am an artist currently looking to purchase SGI Hardware from someone respected and known to have made sales through this forum before. I have been creeping this forum for over two months as well as constantly monitoring eBay trying to find a decent SGI machine.

First of all I am looking for some information. Id someone to give me ideal specs for an Indy/Indigo/Impact that can do the following:
- 3D Modeling/Rendering/Animation/Ect (I've read about Power Animator and how well its been received by individuals who use Irix, although I am more comfortable with Maya, Blender & Autocad)
- Run some kind of video editing software (I've heard that early versions of Premiere run on Irix)
- Run some kind of raster image editor.

I'm also looking for as much information about the following:
- If anyone has had any experience using an Indy/Indigo/Impact to create computer generated imagery around the time that the machines were top of the line hardware.
- What the most optimal specs on an Indy/Indigo/Impact would be for creating short CG animations on said hardware.
- What versions of software should I be looking for in regards to Maya, Lightwave, Autocad, Houdini, Blender, Premiere, Photoshop ect and how likely will it be to have a usable copy of these programs installed on a machine. (If anyone here has these programs and could help out, PM me!)

What I'm looking to purchase.
I live in the US and would prefer to purchase from a verified US seller.
You can PM me with what you have and how much you are looking to sell it for!
- Any running SGI hardware from 92' forward.
- A running SGI Indy/Indigo/Impact or any other comparable SGI product.
- An SGI three-button mouse, keyboard and any other peripherals.
- Software, manuals and guides to using said software that runs on Irix.

Why I'm doing this.
I'm doing this because as of the past 6 months I have been obsessed with SGI hardware and their legacy. I also want to produce a VHS tape and sell it via my website for my fans. A personal goal I wanted to achieve was using an SGI machine to produce some of the animations, and eventually use it as one of my main tools for creativity. I think of old computer hardware in the same way many musicians think of vintage synths or guitars.

Thanks so much in advance! And if you are curious, feel free to check out my works at: http://www.internetfate.net/

ivelegacy wrote:

foetz wrote: also going from extreme to impact requires a new backplane and a new psu so the switch is not cheap at all.

why ?

The graphics options available for the SGI Indigo² can be divided in two groups: the "pre-IMPACT" and the "MGRAS IMPACT" boards.

"Pre-IMPACT" options consisted of the following options: SGI XL24, SGI XZ, SGI Elan and SGI Extreme). These options are based on the same "Express Graphics" architecture from the original SGI Indigo, but feature improved performance.

The "MGRAS IMPACT" boards include: Solid IMPACT, High IMPACT, High IMPACT AA, and the Maximum IMPACT, and are also known as the IMPACT graphics family. These newer boards have a different architecture than the earlier designs. Physically, they appear to be similar to the older graphics options - the low-end Solid IMPACT board takes up a single GIO-64 slot, the mid-range High IMPACT takes up two GIO-64 slots, and the high end Maximum IMPACT takes occupies three. The High IMPACT and Solid IMPACT boards provides the same performance for non-textured tasks, while the Maximum IMPACT provides double the performance. The High IMPACT AA option has the geometry performance of a Maximum IMPACT, but is otherwise the same as the High IMPACT including the pixel fill performance.

The IMPACT graphics was the first desktop graphics system from SGI to offer texture mapping acceleration, though only the High IMPACT and Maximum IMPACT had this capability, and came with 1 MB of texture memory as standard. The Solid IMPACT card is named "Solid" due to its applications for solid (non-textured) modeling. When expanded by adding a TRAM (Texture RAM) module to the board, the amount of texture memory can be increased to 4 MB. Maximum IMPACT graphics require two of these modules due its two pixel units, although this does not upgrade them to 8 MB, with the two modules merely working in parallel to render twice as fast. At the time of its release, Maximum IMPACT graphics was the world's fastest available top-end desktop visualization solution. A Maximum IMPACT with 4 MB of texture memory and the correct graphics settings can play id Software's Quake 1, 2 or 3 with acceptable frame rates.

A Maximum IMPACT with 4 MB of texture memory and the correct graphics settings can play id Software's Quake 1, 2 or 3 with acceptable frame rates.