SGI: Discussion

I'm listing this here instead of the for sale section because i'm not actually ready to sell it yet.

I've decided to consolidate my hobbies, and while rearranging the house, I realize I never really use any of my SGI stuff.. for anything, other than one of the VW320's so the whole lot will eventually show up for sale as I go through it and get the machines cleaned off and fresh copies of 6.5.30 installed.

I might hang on to my o2 and a 1600sw, but the rest will be leaving, either to buyers or to the scrapyard.

My dilemma is though, what to do with my origin 2400. Which is why i'm asking here. If I sell it whole. I will NOT ship it. It will be local pickup only or the buyer will have to otherwise arrange their own freight/shipping. I'll help get it out of my house and help load it but that's it.

So here's my real question. Am I better off listing it whole, or parting the thing out? I honestly wouldn't mind hanging on to the rack. It is a really nice cabinet after all. But if it'll go for more whole, that's the route i'll go. I originally got it to be part of a render farm but these days some of my companies customers are throwing away machines that.. how shall I say it.. are a lot more green? On the other hand, since it lived in my living room, I can attest that it makes a wonderful.. but a bit loud.. heater, during the winter.

An old hinv can be found for it here
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=15701
but that's not really current. It has an IO6G now, and has the octane video card mod done, and I think I got it up to 2Gb per node on the ram. It's been so long since i've messed with it now I can't remember if I got the 16th cpu issue worked out or not. I'll know when I roll it back in range of a 220v outlet and fire it up and reinstall irix. I'll post a complete hinv then when i'm ready to try and sell it.

Forgot to add the MMSC has been modified as well. I got tired of replacing the power supply in as it kept overheating them so the last time I did I added a couple of internal fans. It hasn't died since, and this modification isn't outwardly visible but it's something to note since my mmsc makes a whirring sound now instead of being silent.

It would be nice if you could get a buyer to take the whole thing, but your maximum rate of return (if measured solely in $$) will be in parts. The MMSC and nodeboards alone will probably bring more than the system as a whole, but then you do have to deal with shipping.

If you'd like to try to sell it as a unit, you might try a for sale post with your location mentioned in the title. We've got some members in your general area.

Even if selling it complete brings in less overall money, you won't have to mess with shipping, waiting for all of the parts to sell, or be faced with recycling fees for the stuff that doesn't sell.

Once you factor in the time and effort (and possible cost, depending on area / recyclers) to recycle or trash the pieces you end up with after a part-out, it's usually better if you can find someone to take it whole.

On the other hand, if you're looking at raw cash value, you'll get a lot more parting out, because you can ship parts to people without shipping negating any financial gain from the deal (plus your audience is much wider and you can find someone willing to pay).

I'd rather see a system go whole, too, but that's just personal feelings - it's nice to see working hardware go to a good home where it gets used, rather than half of it going to the recyclers. Some (probably wiser and better) people aren't sentimentally attached to computers at all though, so it's just a preference.

Personally, I'd try for whole and use parting-out as a second option.

I'd attempt to sell it whole. Just for the hobbyist community's sake, I think it's cooler to see complete systems change hands. But that's a personal thing.

Of course, if that thing had any 500MHz nodeboards, I'd tell you to part it out.