Preferred SGI Systems…

[DeeAnn]

Does anyone know of a list somewhere that ranks vintage SGI hardware in terms of minimal hardware issues, system availability, spare parts availability, software availability beyond SGI offerings, reasonably decent for relatively modern work, reasonable value for money, etc.? I realize that every family of systems, and the computers within that family, have pluses and minuses. The trick is figuring out which ones represent a good balance…

 

[stormy]

I don't think I've seen anywhere that explains your requirements before. You're talking a modern listing of pros/cons and availabilities for people looking to get 'into' sgi today?

SGI is very weird in that sometimes the better systems can be cheaper, and better can be completely different depending on person. For instance the cheapest systems you find are usually SGI Octane machines, not because they are bad, just because they're basically too big for any 'normal' person to be able to post to anyone. So often sellers are restricted to selling as local pickup, then they're limited to people within a certain viscinity.

In my personal opinion, it comes down to these things:
* Are you wanting 3D rendering and texture capabilities
* Is size and portability important to you
* Is CPU speed more important, are you compiling software?

In my opinion this comes down to three reasonable offerings:

1. SGI Octane - Has the best 3D and texture options, availability of hardware, reliability and speed options. Big! Two person lift!
2. SGI O2 - Has reasonably affordable 3D with textures 'out of the box' parts are rarer and more expensive, but has a range. Great size!
3. SGI Indy - Super small, portable. Slowest in terms of CPU options. Doesn't have 3D texture, but has geometry. Great size!

Other options like the Indigo2 I discounted because the fastest Indigo2 will cost you more than a fast Octane, no advantage to the size/portability and also plagued by PSU problems. The for pure CPU horse-power there is the Origin, but it's as big as a fridge. Same with the Tezro - like an Octane on sterioids, no faster for 3D options but CPU power can be much higher, but size of a small fridge.

Anything OLDER than the Indigo2 really is niche, super rare and will be very hard to find parts for. But there is a lot to be said for nostalgia and I noticed you said that you worked with later 68k systems. So pick one up if you find one

 

[weblacky]

I totally agree with the above...but I'll add something else...Geography! SGI prices are in fact often REGIONAL and more often conditional on how "mint" their appearance is. Let me explain, certain areas of the world and any country had more SGIs that others. I live in the northwestern half of the USA. We had Boeing and several other major manufacturers (All used SGIs up until about 2002-ish) and we're on the same coast as California (Hollywood!), so there were LOTS of video production studios around here to, on top of CAD users from aerospace. Also SGI headquarters was IN California, USA (now the Google campus).

When companies began transitioning off SGIs in the beginning of 2000...our area was FLUSH with SGIs...I mean FLUSH from 2002-2008. That's how I was able to amasse most of my collection locally (I only had two systems shipped), the rest are ALL local finds over the course of 20+ years!

Now in Europe versus USA, I hear things are different and not only did you need to be in certain major cities in even see one, but some countries just had just low SGI penetration that it's like seeing a unicorn. My point is systems that are "cheap" in some areas are super pricey in other. I'm told Indy is a the best example. Indys go for more money in Europe than in the USA (I'm told). Conversely, SGI in the midwest go for more than the coastal cities in the USA...due to density/saturation of merchandise. The harder they are to find locally...the more expensive they are. Shipping and fragility cause this...no one has the original boxes anymore and most of theses skins (plastics) are described as "peanut brittle"...not joking. So yeah, local sales ONLY!

This is why no one has a major pricing guide because availability is KING, rare = more money in any local area. Octanes are cheap right now because they were the last generally bought (in high volume) SGIs to be retired (I don't know how many businesses really bought Tezro and Fuel as PCs were faster by then). But when Octane was around..it WAS faster than any PC...so still a pack leader (the mid-late 90's). After that...SGI was on life support due to loss of being bleeding edge on graphics (they tried cluster computing but the market fell out as more of a speciality (MORE SO) after the dot-com collapse...they had a great take on cluster computer (single system image) but it's was slightly too late...to bad, SSI is really hard to do...not even Linux has it mainstream (only through old patches).

Anyway, SGI collecting also tends to split between BIG IRON and desktop stations. I collection only desktop stations...BIG IRON takes SERIOUS space, time, money, and electrical hookups. Smaller Big iron (Crimson, Onyx Deskside, rackable Origins/Tezro) are more money and fewer...but they are different in fraiglity, shipping/travelling, and part availability than desktop SGIs. For me, personally, I would accept a Crimson for free...due to the amount of work it would take it get it running...but I'd not risk shipping one or paying anything more than moving costs for one. Earlier Big Iron SGIs had thinner PCBs and had wobble and flex...you could easily buy a working unit, place in the back of your minivan...drive it home and it no longer works...i've heard stories. They were initially designed to assemble onsite (under support contract) and moved only under support contract. The later models (Onyx2 and higher) aren't as fragile (I'm told).

There are so few Big Iron collectors that most likely all know each other by first name. With their fragility, older big iron SGIs were also beaten up, tossed, and scrapped earlier...hence they are MUCH more rare than ANY one SGI station. The big iron computers also had MASSIVELY different firmware interfaces and extremely complex firmware systems (control boxes and interfaces) compared with the desktop stations. Troubleshooting a big iron system is extremely different from the simpler desktop stations as well. They are a lot more complex than most people realize...until they have a problem and you have to solve it.

Sometimes a mass of parts from SGIs (scrapped I assume) comes out of China (Tezros) or Europe and the entire market changes overnight. It's a small community compared to say, Commodore or Amiga. So changing pricing due to influx of large lots of inventory is easily done (if you have the inventory).

Right now more stations (big and desktop) are failing due to age (power supplies mostly...but some graphics as well). Me and a few other people are trying what we can do provide rebuilt parts to keep things working. But the global manufacturing shortage has now causes that process to SLOW TO A CRAWL, as I wait and hope that my large part order really is filled in February to get me going again. Under normal conditions...we'd be going faster. But plastics and power supplies are the issue right now with most stations.