/-------------------------------\ / WELCOME TO CHRIS B. MULLINS'S \ < SILICON GRAPHICS/CRAY FAQ > \ copyright 1999, version 1.1 / \-------------------------------/ Last Updated 10/25/99 Welcome to the SGI/CRAY FAQ! This FAQ contains lots of SGI Information, and has various sections for the SGI newbie(as we all were once). Please enjoy, and if you have anything to add, please e-mail me at cmull11217@aol.com. For a current version of this FAQ, see the following website address: http://members.aol.com/CMull11217/private/index.htm ----THIS FAQ CONTAINS ALL THE INFO YOU WILL EVER NEED ABOUT SGI and CRAY. THIS COPYRIGHTED INFORMATION(that is written by MYSELF, and not taken from elsewhere) SHOULD NOT BE PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE, WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF MYSELF (Chris Mullins). FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN CHARGES FILED. THANK YOU. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0--Introduction 2.0--Converting from PC to SGI 2.1--SGI, Pros/Cons 2.2--Why get an SGI? 2.3--Just how affordable are SGI's? 2.4--SGI makes Cray supercomputers? 3.0--Current SGI and Cray computer information O2 Workstation Octane Workstation SGI 320/540 Workstations Onyx2 Supercomputer Origin200 Server SGI 1400 Server SGI 2100 Server Origin2000 Server Cray Origin2000 Server Cray T90 Supercomputer Cray T3E Supercomputer Cray SV1 Supercomputer 3.1--Older SGI computer information Personal IRIS Workstation IRIS Crimson Supercomputer Indy Workstation Indigo Workstation Indigo2 Workstation Onyx Supercomputer Challenge S, DM, L, XL Server 3.2--Older Cray Supercomputer information 4.0--SGI/Cray Frequently Asked Questions (33 Questions Answered) Introduction FAQs CPU FAQs Hardware FAQs Software FAQs Miscellaneous FAQs 5.0--Glossary of Terms 6.0--Links to other SGI sites 6.1--Miscellaneous Stuff and Version History 6.2--People to thank for their help 6.3--Final Closing Point ----------------- 1.0--INTRODUCTION I applaud you for reading this FAQ. Thanks, because if it weren't for the readers, there would be no reason to write a FAQ of this nature. I have always liked SGI computers, mainly for their graphics prowess, and the fact that not everyone and their mother has one(like how Gateway 2000's were back in 1993). This FAQ is meant to complement the other SGI FAQs out there, not to be their "competition". The other SGI FAQs out there are very well done, although I want this one to go into a different direction, so to speak. Everyone has to take their first step, into the realm of Silicon Graphics computers. I feel, that even though there are some damn good FAQs out there, covering the SGI hardware; that none of them really cater to the average person Every FAQ is written for SGI professionals. That's not necessarily a bad thing, however, when you're just starting out, you need to learn something other than pure code. SGI computers don't really have the "pure code" that other computers, such as the IBM AS/400 and HP/9000, for example. However, there will be some of that goodness in here, but fortunately, it will be explained in pure, unadulterated English. But what's different about SGIs, is the limited time to configure new hardware and software, and just how lots of options on PCs come standard on SGI machines. That's the beauty of SGI, standard Ethernet and SCSI. :) Now, onto the actual computers themselves; these are everything and more that you've heard about them. They are graphics-making beasts; capable of consuming very large amounts of VRAM. Needless to say, with the exception of the workstation types(Indigo, Indy, O2),these were never intended for home use, and their FCC Class A rating basically reiterates the aforementioned thought. ------------------ FCC Class Meanings What does FCC Class A mean, you say? Well, there are two main classes for computer equipment, and pertaining to interference regulations: FCC CLASS A: Suitable for commercial, non-residential operation. Can cause radio, telephony, and television wavelength interference. Not advised for use in the home. FCC CLASS B: Suitable in residential and commercial operations. Cannot cause any sort of radio, telephony, and television wavelength interference. Remember, that if you have a CLASS B machine, but put in a CLASS A adapter card, it reverts the machine's rating to FCC CLASS A. PC monitors seem to be most hazardous to SGIs, but not a lot of other items computer related.... ------------------ So, the question is, can you afford some interference in your home, for the sake of computing power? If so, then step on further. If not, then I'm afraid you'll have to get a *gasp* home PC. Hmmm.....but SGIs seem to have better RF shielding than I once thought.....maybe these are the US designed ones. That doesn't mean Onyx's are usable much in the home, due to their power requirements; but Indigo machines and the like should run great. If you are buying for a business, and thinking about going with SGI's products, here's something to remember; SGI makes all types of machines, UNIX machines and Windows NT machines. But, the real question to contemplate is: Why go with an SGI to run Win NT? I mean, if you need Win NT, go with something else. That's just my personal opinion. Why does Chris hate Windows so much? It isn't so much "hate", rather than that many businesses think of Windows as their only solution. It's an okay operating system, however, there are OS's with infinitely better stab- ility(and not talking about Linux). I love these computers, and my will of learning new things grows every day. And I understand that most people don't know what they need when they get a computer. Well, I hope to change that, partly with this FAQ(and my other pending FAQs on the IBM RS/6000, IBM AS/400, and Sun SPARC machines). Please bear with me, and if anyone reading this has anything to add, feel free to e-mail me at cmull11217@aol.com, and you'll be credited to the fullest extent. Before I start with this, one comment to mention: If you feel you can't afford a Silicon Graphics computer, YOU ARE MISTAKEN. You CAN afford an SGI, no matter your budget. It isn't like the old, begone days of SGI. Now, let's begin the FAQ! ------------------- 2.0--CONVERTING FROM PC TO SGI What does "Converting from PC to SGI" mean? Well, if you've been a PC user for the majority of your computer-using life, and want to switch to some- thing more powerful, more stable, and more user-friendly in the long run, you would want to switch from PC to SGI. It's not as easy as it sounds. But, it's not hard at all, mainly though, what's hard is the learning process of the Operating system(for SGI computers, the OS is IRIX, a UNIX derivative that has the best GUI of any OS). For people who have been lifelong Microsoft customers, and want a change, this section is definitely for you. Moreover, I think that you will be very pleased with the OS change from "WinBlows" to something more stable, like SGI's IRIX. Just the fact of lessened system crashes will amaze you, to the fullest extent. Now, onto the Pros and Cons of owning an SGI system. 2.1--SGI, PROS AND CONS This section is dedicated to the Pros and Cons of owning an SGI system, versus a PC. Let's get to the statistics and opinions, shall we? ---Silicon Graphics System--- PROS: EXCELLENT Graphics subsystem on all models, some even with 48-bit color(I don't want to even imagine how many colors that is...) And the Reality Engine, RE2, VTX, Skywriter, and Infinite Reality have capabilities up to 192 bit color with 32-bit Z buffer! Superb I/O and adapter card transfer rates CPUs blow away the competition, especially in floating point performance Price/performance ratio has GREATLY improved over the last two generations of SGI computers EXCELLENT Operating system, very stable Workmanship is impeccable CONS: Price is still cost-inhibitive for most people on certain models Graphics subsystems can be extremely EXPENSIVE, if you upgrade after the purchase of the machine Uses non-standard RAM, very expensive OR hard to find, besides the Indy, Indigo2, Personal Iris 4D/20, 25; and Indigo R4000 ---Standard Gateway 2000 PC--- PROS: Cheap machine, Gateway is one of the best PC makers Graphics performance is among the best along PC makers CONS: Uses cheaper technology that cannot be considered satisfactory for something that you'd need an SGI for Windows on Intel? Enough said...I'd rather have Solaris on Intel anyday of the week, or Win NT 3.51, the last REAL Microsoft OS CPUs still provide HORRID floating point performance I don't think I need to elaborate any further, do I? :) 2.2--WHY GET AN SGI? Well, the question is this: Why get a Proton when you can afford a Rolls Royce? But, imagine the Rolls-Royce as only $2,000 more than a comparatively equipped Mazda. That's the difference between SGI and a PC. Would it be worth it to get an SGI? Well, it wouldn't be worth it, if all you run on your PC is QUICKBOOKS and other such programs. But, if you were running programs like AutoCAD, Photoshop, Illustrator, and are in a field where using SoftImage and Alias/Wavefront products are the standard; you need this computer. Please remember, that even though SGI computers can be quite expensive, that the programs' cost and learning expense far outweigh the initial SGI computer outlay. It's like getting regular ice cream, or Breyers' Viennetta. Viennetta is very good ice cream, and worth the extra cost over the regular ice cream. But, 95% of the general popluace want cheaper all the time, no matter how much better the Viennetta is. Another viewpoint, is that for comparatively less, you can get a PC to run most of what you can run on an SGI, and in some cases, NEWER programs (such as Photoshop 3.0 for IRIX, and 5.5 for PC). Well, the idea to remember is this: Just because you are using a better model number, doesn't mean that you will get better results with 5.5, than you can with version 3.0. I understand that it's hard to switch from being a longtime PC user, to something along the lines of an SGI machine. But, if you're reading this FAQ, then you're wanting something different, not just a souped up INTERGRAPH with Win NT on it. Sure, you could get one of them, but even though I like Intergraph's machines; no serious business could afford to even run "mission critical" applications on anything that has to do with Windows. I'm sorry, but SGI has the best graphical system of computers on the market, no matter how you look at it. And, they are MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE than in generations' past. Remember, SGI makes standard servers as well, NOT JUST graphical workstations(such as the Origin 2000 server). 2.3--JUST HOW AFFORDABLE ARE SGI's? More affordable that they were used to. Surely, you(the readers) know that PC's as a general rule, don't depreciate well. Well, SGI's do depreciate, but nowhere as much as general PCs do. But, that's not saying that they can't depreciate, because they WILL. Why should you be concerned with depreciation? Well, it's like buying a Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph brand new. It costs somewhere in the vicinity of $220,000. Well, a 10 year old 1989 model Silver Spur( predecessor of the Silver Seraph)will cost around $80,000. That's such a "huge" drop, but consider that the percentage of depreciation is still less than general PCs. Brand new SGIs start off at $4995 for non-Intel machines; $3995 for Intel machines. Remember that SGI now makes Intel machines with Windows NT. :( But, that $4995 is for their entry-level O2 model. The $3995 one is their SGI 320 Workstation. Price lists for entry-level and topped out model are below, in this format(entry price/equipped price): SGI Non-Intel Machines O2 ($4,995/$9,495) Octane ($16,495/$47,995) Onyx2 Deskside ($39,995/$89,995) Onyx2 Rackmount Single Pipe ($89,995/$199,995) Onyx2 Rackmount Multichannel ($229,995/$499,995+) Origin 200 ($9,995/$18,995) SGI 2100 ($22,995/$48,995) Origin 2000 ($49,995/$149,995) CRAY Machines CRAYOrigin 2000 ($229,995/$499,995) CRAY T90 ($499,995/$724,995) CRAY T3E ($499,995/$899,995) CRAY SV1 ($499,995/$799,995) SGI Intel Machines SGI Visual Workstation 320 ($3,995/$6,995) SGI Visual Workstation 540 ($6,495/$11,995) SGI 1400 ($14,995/$49,995) Bear in mind, these are generalized prices, and are for the current SGI/Cray computer lineups. These do not include older SGI machines, such as the Personal Iris and Crimson machines, etc. Those will be covered later in this FAQ. 2.4--SGI makes CRAY SUPERCOMPUTERS? Yes they do. Cray Operations, LLC, is a wholly owned part of SGI, Inc. Therefore, SGI makes these big, powerful supercomputers that you thought only the U.S. Armed Forces had access to. And God bless the Armed Forces. Of course, when you want the same computers that Ford, the EPA, and General Motors have, they will cost a lot. They need the supreme processing power, the lightning fast I/O throughput, 512 CPUs, etc. And, you pay accordingly. Even though SGIs have come down in price, Crays have not. However, if you are in a field to where you would need one of these bad boys; you must be making some money. :) And, these computers will help you out tremendously. All the info I have on Cray Supercomputers is from elsewhere; credited accordingly. Since I don't own one(it'll take a while for that to happen), everything I have on these computers come from businesses and people that own one; SGI/Cray's website, and from other various sources. --------------------- 3.0--CURRENT SGI and CRAY COMPUTER INFORMATION Below, in the following paragraphs, are the specifications and a summary of all the CURRENT Silicon Graphics and Cray computers available. Please enjoy, and if I left out anything that you might have the information, please e-mail me at CMull11217@aol.com. Thanks. These are taken from SGI's website, so credit them for this work. Some comments are my own, spread out over this whole section. SGI O2 Visual Workstation ------------------------- Base CPU: MIPS 64-bit RISC R5000, W/64kb Level 1,1 MB Level 2 cache Optional CPUs: MIPS 64-bit RISC R10000, W/64kb Level 1, W/1MB Level 2 cache MIPS 64-bit RISC R12000, W/64kb Level 1, W/1MB Level 2 cache Available RAM: Minimum 64 MB, Maximum 1024 MB(1 GB) SDRAM System Graphics: 32-bit color with 32-bit double buffer format 1280x1024 resolution at 75 Hz Graphics Features: Texture mapping via hardware, OpenGL graphics subsystem, hardware z-buffer, triangle rasterization in hardware, hardware image mapping, hardware stencil planes, hardware anti-aliasing(my personal favorite...don't want those jagged lines!) Storage and I/O: Single-ended SCSI controller 1 or 2 3.5" Internal storage bays(depending on CPU) Display Monitor: 17-inch Color monitor Communication: 10-Base T/100-Base TX Ethernet ports Dual DB-9 serial ports Single IEEE 1284c Parallel port 2 Audio I/O ports Audio: Monoaural microphone, 16-bit stereo input and output channels, stereo headphone output, stereo speaker system output Bundled Software: OpenGL, SoundEditor, MovieMaker, ImageWorks, SoundTrack, FX Builder, MediaRecorder, MediaPlayer, CD-DAT Player, Audio/Video/Synth Panel, Media Convert, Samba, Outbox, InPerson, IRIS Annotator, IRIS Showcase, Netscape 4.05, Cosmo Player, Cosmo Create, Netscape FastTrack server, Adobe Acrobat Reader, InfoSearch, SGI Meeting, Teleflect, NFS, ISDN/PPP Support, Novell NetWare client, AppleTalk Physical Specs: 9" Wide x 12" high x 10.5" deep 22 pounds FCC Class A Rating Options: 20" Color Monitor or 17.3 SGI Flat Panel Monitor 4 GB, 9 GB, 13.3 GB Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disks 32x Maximum Speed CD-ROM drive DLT or DAT Tape Backup drives 3.5" Floppy drive Digital Audio I/O Package Video I/O and Digital Video I/O package, featuring real-time graphics to Video output PCI Ultra SCSI Card PCI FC-AL Card(Fibre Channel) Single and dual attached FDDI Card Digital Audio ISDN Modem card My thoughts on the SGI O2 visual workstation? For an entry-level machine, it sure does the job right. It has more than adequate processing power, although there is less than admirable expansion space for your growing needs. That's my main caveat with this machine, but other than that, it's sure well worth the money. And for under $10,000, you have a wonderful graphics powerhouse(or ISP access server)to play with. :) SGI Octane Visual Workstation ----------------------------- Base CPU: 1 or 2 MIPS 64-bit RISC R10000, W/64kb Level 1, W/1MB or 2MB Level 2 cache Optional CPUs: 1 or 2 MIPS 64-bit RISC R12000, W/64kb Level 1, W/2MB Level 2 cache Available RAM: Minimum 128 MB, Maximum 4096 MB(4 GB)SDRAM System Graphics: OCTANE/SE, with 8/16/24-bit RGB single and z buffered, resolution 1280x1024 at 72 Hz OCTANE/SSE, with 24/36 bit RGB double and z buffered, resolution 1920x1035 at 60 Hz OCTANE/MXE, with 16/32bit RGBA double and z buffered, stereo resolution 1920x1035 at 60 Hz *Octane started out with IMPACT graphics, SI, SSI, and MXI, respectively* Graphics Features: 4MB Texture cache standard for OCTANE/MXE, optional for OCTANE/SE and OCTANE/SSE Alpha blending, accumulation buffer, anti-aliased RGB lines and points, texture mapping, fog, lighting features(many types), arbitrary clipping planes, depth cueing, soft shadow and depth of field, subpixel positioning, stenciling, stereo graphics, pan and zoom, X11 Pixel operations Storage and I/O: Crossbar: 1.6GB/sec/port, for 6 ports Single-ended SCSI controller 3 3.5" Internal storage bays(depending on CPU) 4 XIO board expansion slots 3 PCI slots with optional PCI expansion kit Display Monitor: 20-inch Color monitor Communication: 10-Base T/100-Base TX Ethernet ports Dual DB-9 serial ports Single Bidirectional Parallel port 6 Audio I/O ports Audio: Monoaural microphone, 16-bit stereo input and output channels, stereo headphone output, stereo speaker system output, 2 24-bit AES-3id I/O channels, 8 24-bit ADAT optical I/O channels Bundled Software: OpenGL, SoundEditor, MovieMaker, ImageWorks, SoundTrack, FX Builder, MediaRecorder, MediaPlayer, CD-DAT Player, Audio/Video/Synth Panel, Media Convert, Samba, Outbox, InPerson, IRIS Annotator, IRIS Showcase, Netscape 4.05, Cosmo Player, Cosmo Create, Netscape FastTrack server, Adobe Acrobat Reader, InfoSearch, SGI Meeting, Teleflect, NFS, ISDN/PPP Support, Novell NetWare client, AppleTalk Physical Specs: 11" Wide x 16.25" high x 13.25" deep 54 pounds FCC Class A Rating Options: 24" widescreen color monitor with OCTANE/SSE and OCTANE/MXE 4 GB, 9 GB, 13.3 GB Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disks 32x Maximum Speed CD-ROM drive DLT or DAT Tape Backup drives 3.5" Floppy drive PCI PCI Ultra SCSI Card Single-port GIGABIT Ethernet card PCI FC-AL Card(Fibre Channel) Single and dual attached FDDI Card Digital Audio ISDN Modem card XIO 4-port Ultra Differential SCSI 4-port 100-Base-TX and 6 460kb/sec serial ports 2-port FC-AL(Fibre Channel)card Digital Audio I/O Package Video I/O and Digital Video I/O package, featuring real-time graphics to Video output My thoughts on the SGI Octane? What is probably the best all-around graphics powerhouse, is right in the middle of the heavyweights, the O2 and the Onyx2. The Octane, perhaps the best price/performance ratio of all the SGI computers, has a few caveats against it. The price for a topped out Octane comes up on Onyx2 territory, and the Onyx is infinitely better than the Octane, no matter how souped up you can get it. But for a modestly loaded Octane, wonders can happen, for only around $20,000. Truthfully, one of the best all-around machines, although if you load up too many options on it, it'll not be worth your while to do so, due to the high costs of such. SGI 320/540 Visual Workstation ------------------------------ Base CPU: Pentium III Processor at 450-600 Mhz, w/512kb Level 2 cache(320) 1-4 Pentium III Xeon Processors at 450 Mhz, w/512k-2MB Level 2 cache(540) Available RAM: Maximum 1 GB ECC(error checking control)SDRAM, 2 DIMM slots(320) Maximum 2 GB ECC(error checking control)SDRAM, 4 DIMM slots(540) System Graphics: 16-bit/32-bit double-buffered, 16-bit/24-bit Z buffer 8-bit overlay, 8-bit stencil, Resolution up to 1920x1200 at 66 Hz in 32-bit RGBA color Graphics Features: Rasterization of point, line, triangle, and rectangle primitives, interpolaton setup, anti-aliased line setup, front and back face culling, per-vertex lighting computation, connected line and triangle mesh interface, window clipping through screen masks, scissored rendering, line and polygon stippling, Gouraud shading, texture mapping, fogging, Alpha and chroma keying, Alpha blending, dithering for 4, 5-bit RGB components; logical operations, color plane mask, off-screen buffers, fast buffer to buffer copy, overlay buffer, stencil buffering, frame lock video synchronization Storage and I/O: UltraATA 14.4 GB hard disk(320) Ultra2 SCSI controller, non-SCA 9GB hard disk Ultra2 SCSI controller, SCA 9GB or 18GB hard disk(540) 3 3.5" Internal storage bays(540) Floppy drive and CD-ROM drive 3 PCI 64-bit slots(320) 6 PCI 64-bit slots(540) Display Monitor: 17-inch Color monitor Communication: 10-Base T/100-Base TX Ethernet ports 1 DB-9 serial port Single IEEE 1284c Parallel port 4 Audio I/O ports 1 Universal Serial Bus connector(USB) IEEE 1394 Firewire connector Audio: Monoaural microphone, 16-bit stereo input and output channels, stereo headphone output, stereo speaker system output Bundled Software: NFS Maestro Solo, File Manipulation commands, Livework 3D, 3Space Assistant, MacDrive98, Adobe Quicktime 3, Adobe Type Manager Light, DeBabelizer Pro 4.5 LE, McAfee VirusScan, McAfee WebScanX, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Communicator, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Miramar PC Mac-LAN, Exceed 3D, Datafocus Nutcracker Physical Specs: 9.25" Wide x 18.75" high x 20" deep 34 pounds FCC Class B Rating (320 MODEL) 10" Wide x 26.5" high x 24" deep 62 pounds FCC Class B Rating (540 MODEL) Options: 20" Color Monitor or 17.3 SGI Flat Panel Monitor 4 GB, 9 GB, 13.3 GB Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disks DLT or DAT Tape Backup drives 3.5" Floppy drive Video I/O and Digital Video I/O package, featuring real-time graphics to Video output PCI Ultra SCSI Card PCI FC-AL Card(Fibre Channel) Single and dual attached FDDI Card Digital Audio I/O Package What a well made machine, eh? Too bad it's a Windows NT/Intel machine. I'm serious, as these two machines are very well made, and at least for a Windows machine, they blow away the competition. But, the question is this: If you're looking at an SGI, why go with Wintel boxes? You can get those from Gateway 2000 or something. Why bother...I'd say, if you want to switch to SGI, avoid these, as these are Wintel boxes. But, if you absolutely need an SGI machine that runs Windows NT, I'd say go for these. They aren't bad machines at all, and from reports from others that I have heard, they are well-built machines which are fully integrated with Win NT. SGI Onyx2 Graphics Supercomputer -------------------------------- Base CPU: 2-8 MIPS 64-bit RISC R12000, W/64kb Level 1, W/8MB Level 2 cache(InfiniteReality2 Deskside, Rackmount Single Pipe) 4-128!! MIPS 64-bit RISC R12000, W/64kb Level 1, W/8MB Level 2 cache(InfiniteReality2 16-pipe) Available RAM: Minimum 256 MB, Maximum 8 GB SDRAM(Infinite Reality2 Deskside) Minimum 256 MB, Maximum 16 GB SDRAM(Rackmount Single Pipe) Minimum 256 MB, Maximum 256 GB SDRAM(Infinite Reality2 16-pipe) System Graphics: Infinite Reality2 Deskside, with 48-bit RGBA color resolution 1920x1200 at 72 Hz Frame Buffer from 80MB to 160MB Rackmount Single Pipe, with 48-bit RGBA color resolution 1920x1200 at 60 Hz Frame Buffer from 80MB to 320MB Infinite Reality2 16-pipe, with 48-bit RGBA color resolution 1920x1200 at 60 Hz Frame Buffer from 80MB to 320MB Graphics Features: 64MB-1GB combined Texture Memory for InfiniteReality2 16-pipe 64MB Texture Memory standard for InfiniteReality2 Deskside and Rackmount Single Pipe 210 Million polygons per second(InfiniteReality2 16-pipe) 13.1 Million polygons per second(InfiniteReality2 Deskside, Rackmount Single Pipe) 16 Display Planes, 1-16 Graphics Pipelines, 1-2 Raster Managers (1-6 on Rackmount and 16-pipe) 8x8 Anti-aliasing multisampling 4 Geometry Engine Processors per pipeline VGA->HDTV compatible for monitor Storage and I/O: Crossbar: 1.6GB/sec/port, for 6 ports Single-ended SCSI controller 3 3.5" Internal storage bays(depending on CPU) 4 XIO board expansion slots 3 PCI slots with optional PCI expansion kit (InfiniteReality2 Deskside) 9 XIO board expansion slots 3 PCI slots with optional PCI expansion kit (Single Pipe and 16-pipe; per pipe) Display Monitor: 24-inch Widescreen Color monitor Communication: 10-Base T/100-Base TX Ethernet ports 4 460kb serial ports Single Bidirectional Parallel port 2 Keyboard and 2 Mouse ports UltraWide SCSI onboard Audio: Monoaural microphone, 16-bit stereo input and output channels, stereo headphone output, stereo speaker system output, 2 24-bit AES-3id I/O channels, 2 24-bit ADAT optical I/O channels Physical Specs: 20" Wide x 26.5" high x 24" deep 215 pounds FCC Class A Rating Redundant Power Supply (InfiniteReality2 Deskside) 29" Wide x 73" high x 39" deep 800 pounds per pipe FCC Class A Rating Redundant Power Supply (Rackmount SinglePipe, InfiniteReality2 16-pipe; per pipe) Options: 9 GB, 13.3 GB Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disks DLT or DAT Tape Backup drives PCI Single-port GIGABIT Ethernet card PCI FC-AL Card(Fibre Channel) Single and dual attached FDDI Card Digital Audio ISDN Modem card XIO 4-port Ultra Differential SCSI 4-port 100-Base-TX and 6 460kb/sec serial ports 2-port FC-AL(Fibre Channel)card Token Ring adapter Tons of bundled software, eh? For what you lack in freebies from the Octane, you gain for in supreme processing power in the Onyx. The Onyx is THE graphical supercomputer; it is what big companies such as Ford and GM use to develop the newest prototype cars and trucks. Sure, it's expensive. Sure, if you want the 16-rack Onyx Rackmount, you will have to pay for it. And I mean REALLY pay for it. But, is it all worth it? If you're in a demanding field, and have the money to spend, by all means go for it. You'll absolutely love the processing power that comes out of it. You won't be running QuickBooks on it, but I'll guarantee you that any "mission critical" programs that you want to run on it will run like the wind. SGI Origin200 Server -------------------- Base CPU: 1 or 2 MIPS 64-bit RISC R10000, W/64kb Level 1, W/2MB Level 2 cache, at 225 Mhz Optional CPUs: 1 or 2 MIPS 64-bit RISC R12000, W/64kb Level 1, W/4MB Level 2 cache, at 270 Mhz (maximum of 4 CPUs in double tower configuration) Available RAM: Minimum 256 MB, Maximum 2 GB of ECC SDRAM (Maximum 4 GB in double tower configuration) Storage and I/O: Crossbar: 1.44GB/sec/port, for 6 ports Single-ended SCSI controller 6 3.5" Internal storage bays 2 5.25" External storage bays 5 XIO, 7 PCI slots 10 XIO, 14 PCI slots(dual tower, GIGAChannel) 32x CDROM and 3.5" floppy drive Max Capacity is 1,500GB for UltraSCSI, 46,900GB for FC-AL RAID Communication: 10-Base T/100-Base TX Ethernet ports Dual DB-9 serial ports Single Bidirectional Parallel port Bundled Software: IRIX OS v.6.5, OpenGL, IRIS GL, TCP/IP, NFS V.2, DHCP, MIPS ABI, BDSPro, NetVisualyzer, XFS 64-Bit filesystem, Netscape Enterprise server, SGI Internet Gateway, IRIS Networker, IRIXPro Systems, ANSI C, C++, Fortran 77, Ada, Pascal, Power C Accelerator, Fortran 90, Power Fortran 90, AppleTalk, Syntex TotalNET, Samba, IRIS Failsafe Physical Specs: 9" Wide x 23" high x 26.5" deep 59 pounds FCC Class A Rating Options: 4 GB, 9 GB, 13.3 GB Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disk or FC-AL disks DLT or DAT Tape Backup drives PCI PCI Ultra SCSI Card Single-port GIGABIT Ethernet card PCI FC-AL Card(Fibre Channel) Single and dual attached FDDI Card ISDN Modem card XIO 4-port Ultra Differential SCSI 4-port 100-Base-TX and 6 460kb/sec serial ports 2-port FC-AL(Fibre Channel)card HIPPI serial cards I don't have much to say on this entry-level SGI server. It's a damn good server, but my least favorite SGI. Why? It's too watered down for the price, and even though the software is great; I'd rather chalk up a little more money for an Origin 2000. It's a good server, but I'd ALMOST get a loaded Gateway 2000 instead of this computer. I can't believe I said that...:( SGI 1400 Server --------------- Base CPU: 1-4 Pentium III Xeon 500 Mhz w/512k-2MB Level 2 cache Available RAM: Maximum 4 GB of ECC SDRAM, with 4-way interleaving Storage and I/O: Crossbar: 266MB/sec/port, for 6 ports Internal/External LVDS SCSI port Internal Narrow SCSI channel 6 3.5" Internal storage bays (hot swappable SCA UltraSCSI2 hard disks) 7 PCI slots 32x CDROM and 3.5" floppy drive Communication: 10-Base T/100-Base TX Ethernet ports Dual DB-9 serial ports Single Bidirectional Parallel port Bundled Software: SGI Operating Environment w/ RedHat Linux 6.0 Physical Specs: 12.25" Wide x 18.06" high x 25.25" deep 85 pounds FCC Class A Rating Redundant Power Supply(3 of them) Options: 4 GB, 9 GB, 13.3 GB Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disk or FC-AL disks DLT or DAT Tape Backup drives PCI PCI Ultra SCSI Card Single-port GIGABIT Ethernet card PCI FC-AL Card(Fibre Channel) Single and dual attached FDDI Card ISDN Modem card I wish I knew more about this server, but then again, it's a Wintel server...:( I don't care much for this beast either, not just because it's a Wintel box, but mainly because it seemed to be slapped together. And I don't think I can trust Linux, no matter how "non-Windows" it is. SGI, IMO, made a wrong move by making this line of server, as it so closely compares with the Origin 200. But, Wintel's where it's at I guess... SGI 2100 Server --------------- Base CPU: 2-8 MIPS 64-bit RISC R10000, W/64kb Level 1, W/4MB Level 2 cache Available RAM: Minimum 256 MB, Maximum 4 GB of ECC SDRAM 4-way interleaving per node card Storage and I/O: Crossbar: 6.24GB/sec/port Single-ended SCSI controller 5 3.5" Internal storage bays 1 5.25" External storage bay 11 XIO, 3 PCI slots 32x CDROM and 3.5" floppy drive Max Capacity is 8,600GB for UltraSCSI, 171,800GB for FC-AL RAID Communication: 10-Base T/100-Base TX Ethernet ports 2 460kb/sec serial ports Single Bidirectional Parallel port Ultra SCSI onboard Bundled Software: IRIX OS v.6.5, OpenGL, IRIS GL, TCP/IP, NFS V.2, DHCP, MIPS ABI, BDSPro, NetVisualyzer, XFS 64-Bit filesystem, Netscape Enterprise server, SGI Internet Gateway, IRIS Networker, IRIXPro Systems, ANSI C, C++, Fortran 77, Ada, Pascal, Power C Accelerator, Fortran 90, Power Fortran 90, AppleTalk, Syntex TotalNET, Samba, IRIS Failsafe Physical Specs: 21" Wide x 25.5" high x 23" deep 215 pounds FCC Class A Rating Redundant Power Supply Options: 4 GB, 9 GB, 13.3, 18.2 GB Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disk or FC-AL disks DLT or DAT Tape Backup drives PCI PCI Ultra SCSI Card Single-port GIGABIT Ethernet card PCI FC-AL Card(Fibre Channel) Single and dual attached FDDI Card ISDN Modem card XIO 4-port Ultra Differential SCSI 4-port 100-Base-TX and 6 460kb/sec serial ports 2-port FC-AL(Fibre Channel)card HIPPI serial cards 1 or 4 port ATM OC3 Digital Video I/O Package My thoughts on the SGI 2100 server? It's an excellent server, but for the money, I think you're really protruding into Origin 2000 territory. It's just my opinion, but if you get a loaded one of these, and figure out you can't upgrade it, you'll be sitting at work, wondering that you could've spent your money better on an Origin 2000. An excellent server, that actually wasn't necessary, because of the Origin 2000 being there. Then again, if you're cash strapped, and need a lightning quick server for your processing needs; this might be the one that does the job....:) SGI Origin2000 Server --------------------- *for CrayLink Origin 2000, please see the CRAY Origin2000 later in this FAQ, for info on getting this server with up to 256CPUs* Base CPU: 1-8 MIPS 64-bit RISC R10000, W/64kb Level 1, W/1MB Level 2 cache, at 180 Mhz Optional CPU: 1-8 MIPS 64-bit RISC R10000, W/64kb Level 1, W/4MB Level 2 cache, at 195 Mhz 1-8 MIPS 64-bit RISC R10000, W/64kb Level 1, w/4MB Level 2 cache, at 250 Mhz 1-8 MIPS 64-bit RISC R12000, W/??Kb Level 1, w/8MB Level 2 cache, at 300 Mhz Available RAM: Minimum 256 MB, Maximum 4 GB of ECC SDRAM Interleaving, 4-way per node card Storage and I/O: Crossbar: 6.24GB/sec/port 5 3.5" Internal storage bays 1 5.25" Internal storage bay 11 XIO, 3 PCI slots Max Capacity is 3,500GB for UltraSCSI, 14,900GB for FC-AL Internal/External Single-ended SCSI Communication: 10-Base T/100-Base TX Ethernet ports Dual DB-9 serial ports Single Bidirectional Parallel port Onboard Ultra SCSI Bundled Software: IRIX OS v.6.5, IRIS GL, TCP/IP, NFS V.2, DHCP, MIPS ABI, NetVisualyzer, XFS 64-Bit filesystem, Netscape Enterprise server, SGI Internet Gateway, IRIS Networker, IRIXPro Systems, AppleTalk, Syntex TotalNET, Samba, Physical Specs: 21" Wide x 25.5" high x 23" deep 215 pounds FCC Class A Rating Optional Redundant Power Supply Options: 4 GB, 9 GB, 13.3 GB, 18.2GB Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disk or FC-AL disks DLT or DAT Tape Backup drives PCI PCI Ultra SCSI Card Single-port GIGABIT Ethernet card PCI FC-AL Card(Fibre Channel) Single and dual attached FDDI Card ISDN Modem card XIO 4-port Ultra Differential SCSI 4 port OC-3 and single port OC-3 OC-12 Asynchronous Transfer Mode cards 4-port 100-Base-TX and 6 460kb/sec serial ports 2-port FC-AL(Fibre Channel)card HIPPI serial cards *expansion via MAXIMUM RACK SPECS, are staggering. Such as 192 XIO Cards. up to 256 CPUs, etc. For more info on that system, please see the system below called "CRAY Origin2000"* What a bad-ass server. Even though the outward appearance is like that of the SGI 2100 and ONYX2, what's hiding under this piece of equipment, is a processing beast that's ready to be unleashed. I can think of all good things to come out of this server, such as the ability to have up to 128 CPUs via CrayLink, the ability to expand to as much space as you need, and the ability to be a general all-purpose server. It is a little expensive, but it's so much more versatile than the SGI 2100(not really in specification, but in actual usage), that you would wonder what you did if you DIDN'T get an Origin 2000. CRAY Origin2000 Supercomputer ----------------------------- *the "entry-level Cray supercomputer, sure isn't "entry-level" for normal people at least. :)* Base CPU: 65-256 MIPS 64-bit RISC R10000, W/64kb Level 1, W/4MB Level 2 cache, at 195 Mhz Optional CPUs: 65-256 MIPS 64-bit RISC R10000, W/64kb Level 1, w/4MB Level 2 cache, at 250 Mhz 65-256 MIPS 64-bit RISC R12000, W/??kb Level 1, w/8MB Level 2 cache, at 300 Mhz Available RAM: Minimum 256 MB, Maximum 4 GB of ECC SDRAM Interleaving, 4-way per node card *PER rack....there can be up to 16 racks, plus a router for higher than 64 CPUs, making 17 racks* Storage and I/O: Crossbar: 80GB/sec/port sustained 5 3.5" Internal storage bays 1 5.25" Internal storage bay 11 XIO, 3 PCI slots Max Capacity is 3,500GB for UltraSCSI, 14,900GB for FC-AL Internal/External Single-ended SCSI *PER rack....there can be up to 17 racks!!* For 16 racks, there are 184 XIO and 24 64-bit PCI slots, 128 3.5" storage bays, 16 5.25" storage bays... Communication: 10-Base T/100-Base TX Ethernet ports Dual DB-9 serial ports Single Bidirectional Parallel port Onboard Ultra SCSI *PER rack....there can be up to 17 racks!!* Bundled Software: IRIX OS v.6.5, IRIS GL, TCP/IP, NFS V.2, DHCP, MIPS ABI, NetVisualyzer, XFS 64-Bit filesystem, Netscape Enterprise server, SGI Internet Gateway, IRIS Networker, IRIXPro Systems, AppleTalk, Syntex TotalNET, Samba, Physical Specs: 28" Wide x 73" high x 40" deep 700 pounds FCC Class A Rating Optional Redundant Power Supply *weight is per rack* Options: 9 GB, 13.3 GB, 18.2GB Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disk or FC-AL disks DLT or DAT Tape Backup drives PCI PCI Ultra SCSI Card Single-port GIGABIT Ethernet card 4 port OC-3 and single port OC-3 OC-12 Asynchronous Transfer Mode cards PCI FC-AL Card(Fibre Channel, copper or fiber) Single and dual attached FDDI Card ISDN Modem card XIO 4-port Ultra Differential SCSI 4-port 100-Base-TX and 6 460kb/sec serial ports 2-port FC-AL(Fibre Channel)card HIPPI serial cards This is my personal favorite server. Has the awesome power of CRAY supercomputers, at a fraction of the cost of the other Crays. And, this has the true SGI feel to it, meaning that you can expect the best in server computing from this monster. It's not a lightweight, mind you; 16 racks will cost you some dough. But, if you're contemplating this server for purchase, you must be doing something right in business to be able to afford one. :) For the money, it's worth it, if you have the money. Or, be like the rest of us and just stare in awe...:) Now, let's go on to where the other Cray supercomputers are. CRAY T90 Supercomputer ---------------------- *if anyone has some standard specifications for the following Cray systems, please let me know, and you'll be credited to the fullest extent.* Base CPU: 1-4 Proprietary CPU, with 4MB Level 2 cache, performance is 8 Gigaflops(T94) 8-16 Proprietary CPUwith 4MB Level 2 cache, performance is 32 Gigaflops(T916) 8-32 Proprietary CPU, with 4MB Level 2 cache, performance is 60 Gigaflops(T932) *these CPUs, unlike the others listed here, can do IEEE spec or Cray floating point processors* Available RAM: Minimum 512 MB, Maximum 1 GB of ECC SDRAM(T94) Minimum 1 GB, Maximum 4 GB of ECC SDRAM(T916) Minimum 1 GB, Maximum 8 GB of ECC SDRAM(T932) Storage and I/O: Crossbar: 8GB/sec/port sustained(T94) Crossbar: 17GB/sec/port sustained(T916) Crossbar: 35GB/sec/port sustained(T932) Max Capacity is 64,000GB(T94) Max Capacity is 128,000GB(T916) Max Capacity is 256,000GB(T932) Internal/External Single-ended SCSI and FC-AL onboard # of I/O Clusters: 1-8(T94) # of I/O Clusters: 1-16(T916) # of I/O Clusters: 1-32(T932) Communication: 10-Base T/100-Base TX Ethernet ports Dual DB-9 serial ports Single Bidirectional Parallel port Included Ultra-SCSI, FC-AL, HIPPI, FDDI, ATM Bundled Software: UNICOS operating system based on UNIX System V Physical Specs: 5' wide by 3' high by 4' deep 1200+ pounds FCC Class A Rating Optional Redundant Power Supply(T94) 7.5' wide x 5' high by 5' deep 1500+ pounds FCC Class A Rating Redundant Power Supply(T916, T932) Options: 9 GB, 13.3 GB, 18.2GB Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disk or FC-AL disks DLT or DAT Tape Backup drives SOLID STATE DISK(SSD), with up to 16GB Here's the fabled GENERAL usage supercomputer. That means, for almost any purpose(even running Quickbooks, but why would you waste the computer's time doing that? :) ), you can use this bad boy. "Starting" at under $500,000, you too can own one of these. For general usage, it's a good bet. But, if I needed a supercomputer, I would have some sort of use for it. And, the other two computers Cray offers would take care of that. Excellent computer, TOO general for my tastes. CRAY T3E Supercomputer ---------------------- Base CPU: 6-2048!! DEC Alpha 21164at 450 Mhz(900) 32-2048!! DEC Alpha 21164 at 600 Mhz(1200) Performance up to 2.5 Teraflops for 1024 processors Available RAM: Minimum 512 MB, Maximum 2 TB of ECC SDRAM(900) Minimum 2GB, Maximum 2 TB of ECC SDRAM(1200) Storage and I/O: Crossbar is variable, from processor to various ports, is up to 650MB/second between processors and I/O bandwidth up to 128GB/second Max Capacity is 512,000 TB for FC-AL drives GIGARing I/O technology, controllable from every CPU, at 1 GB/second Communication: 10-Base T/100-Base TX Ethernet ports GIGABIT Ethernet port Dual DB-9 serial ports Single Bidirectional Parallel port Included Ultra-SCSI, FC-AL, HIPPI, FDDI, ATM Bundled Software: UNICOS/mk Operating system, based on UNIX System V Physical Specs: ??? Options: 9 GB, 13.3 GB, 18.2GB Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disk or FC-AL disks DLT or DAT Tape Backup drives As you can see, there is not much known about the specifications for this wonderful piece of equipment. For scalable supercomputing systems however, this fits the bill for various businesses in the fields of aerospace, vehicle manufacturing, government, science fields, chemical, pharmaceutical, and environmental; will find this computer to be of an infinite resource for gathering, testing, and collecting research data. If anyone owns this piece of equipment, please e-mail me to help me fill in the missing information. You'll be credited, of course. CRAY SV1 Supercomputer ---------------------- *I need as much information as I can get on this piece of equipment. I have some info below, but if you have anything to add, feel free to email me to help fill in the information. :)* Base CPU: 300 Mhz 64-bit CPU, up to 512 CPUs Performance up to 1.2 Teraflops for 512 processors Available RAM: Minimum 2GB, Maximum 2 TB of ECC DRAM Storage and I/O: Crossbar is variable, from processor to various ports, is up to 650MB/second between processors and I/O bandwidth up to 128GB/second Max Capacity is 512,000 TB for FC-AL drives GIGARing I/O technology, controllable from every CPU, at 1GB/second Communication: 10-Base T/100-Base TX Ethernet ports GIGABIT Ethernet port Dual DB-9 serial ports Single Bidirectional Parallel port Included Ultra-SCSI, FC-AL, HIPPI, FDDI, ATM Bundled Software: UNICOS operating system based on UNIX System V Physical Specs: ??? Air cooled or water assisted cooling system Options: 9 GB, 13.3 GB, 18.2GB Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disk or FC-AL disks DLT or DAT Tape Backup drives The leader in vector supercomputing technology, this computer isn't as potent as the T3E computer, although this computer and the T3E are specialized supercomputers. I'd rather have this computer than the T90 do vector-related computing tasks. As with the other Crays, not much is known about these massive computers. Any help is appreciated. How can I speak about a computer that I've only seen pics of? ----------------------------------- 3.1--OLDER SGI COMPUTER INFORMATION Following, is a listing of SGI's older equipment. This equipment below, is from years past, dating to as far back as 1989. These aren't near as potent as the newer computers, but they are really affordable. Below, are average prices and specs for the older machines, and my personal favorites as well(mine is the Iris Crimson). SGI Professional Series Workstations(4D/50, 60, 70, 80, 85) ---------------------------------------------------------- Base CPU: MIPS R2000 8 Mhz(4D/50, 60), 12.5 Mhz(4D/70) 16 Mhz(4d/80, 85) RAM capacity: From 4-16 MB DRAM Storage: 500 MB half-height, 1GB full height internal Audio: 1 audio channel in stereo, not well documented Physical Specs: Twin Tower Specification, all Professional Series FCC Class A Rating Optional Redundant Power Supply Graphics Options: B, G, GT, GTX(4D/80, 85) Common Price: $80,000 in 1987, $100 in 1999 Year Introduced: 1987 A good starter system into the world of SGI, this system is the one to find, even though it is pretty old. To introduce yourself into the world of SGI, if you want to work on computers a little bit, this is one to pick up, and pick up pretty cheaply. SGI Personal IRIS Workstation(4D/20, 25, 30, 35) ----------------------------------------------- Base CPU: MIPS RISC 20 Mhz, with 96kb L1 cache, 0 kb L2 cache 1.6 Megaflops(4D/25) MIPS RISC 30 Mhz, with 128bk L1 cache, 0 kb L2 cache 4.7 Megaflops(4D/30), R3000A CPU MIPS RISC 35 Mhz, with 128 kb L1 cache, 0 kb L2 cache 6 Megaflops(4D/35s), R3000A CPU RAM capacity: From 8-32 MB DRAM(4D/25) From 8-128 MB DRAM(4D/30, 4D/35s) Communication: Dual RS-232 serial ports Output Parallel port only(4D/25) Single Bidirectional Parallel port(4D/30, 4D/35s) 10-BaseT Ethernet onboard and VME interface Graphics Options: Basic, G, GT Audio: Analog I/O, monoaural output(4D/25) Analog and serial digital I/O, 16-bit stereo(4D/30, 4D/35s) Common Price: $12,000 in 1990, $150 in 1999 Year Introduced: 1989 The oldest SGI that is still useable to some extent, this computer looks very nice, although the power is lacking compared to nowadays' standards. It cannot support the latest OS revisions, and should only be bought to toy around with or to do light work on. It's not something I would trust "mission critical" applications with. SGI Power Series Computers(4D/110, 120, 140, 160, 180, 210, 220, 240, 280, 310, 320, 340, 380, 420, 440, 480 Skywriter) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Base CPU: MIPS R3000 17 Mhz(4D/110, 120, 140, 160, 180) MIPS R3000 25 Mhz(4D/210, 220, 240, 280) MIPS R3000 33 Mhz(4D/310, 320, 340, 380) MIPS R3000 40 Mhz(4D/420, 440, 480 Skywriter) RAM capacity: From 16-256 MB DRAM, can be higher with 4D/480 models' expansion cards Communication: 4 RS-232 Serial Ports Output Parallel port only Single Bidirectional Parallel port 10-BaseT Ethernet onboard and VME interface Dual channel SCSI onboard(4D/220, 320, 420) Graphics Options: Entry, XS24, ELAN, Extreme, VXT, Skywriter, Reality Engine Audio: 16-bit stereo, Digital Audio optional Optional Cards: Ultra SCSI Card Single and dual attached FDDI Card ISDN Modem card Digital Video I/O Package Physical Specs: 26" high x 21" wide x 29" deep 69 pounds(for 4D/120, 220, 320, 420 models) 62.3" high x 27" wide x 48" deep 400 pounds FCC Class A Rating(for 4D/380, 480 models) Other models are unknown FCC Class A Rating Optional Redundant Power Supply Software: C, Fortran, POWER Fortran 77, Power C, dbx, RCS, CASEVision, IRIS Volume Manager, 4D/NQS, IRIX, Workspace, System Manager Common Price: $100,000 in 1990, $300-1200 in 1999 Year Introduced: 1990 Excellent starter system(besides the "server" ones), these are the models that have great power, at the fraction of scalable SGIs today! A great buy, however, the ones you'll come across the most are 4D/110's and 4D/310's, which are horribly lacking in power. More so than the other models. :( SGI IRIS Crimson(4D/510) Supercomputer -------------------------------------- Base CPU: MIPS R4000 100 Mhz w/16 kb L1 cache and 1MB L2 cache 16 megaflops Optional CPU: MIPS R4400 150 Mhz w/32 kb L1 cache and 1MB L2 cache 22 megaflops RAM capacity: From 16-256 MB DRAM Communication: 4 RS-232 Serial Ports Output Parallel port only Single Bidirectional Parallel port 10-BaseT Ethernet onboard and VME interface Dual channel SCSI onboard Storage: 1.2GB half-height, 2.4GB full height internal 66GB externally Graphics Options: Entry, XS24, ELAN, Extreme, GXT, VGXT, VXT, Reality Engine Audio: 16-bit stereo, Digital Audio optional Optional Cards: Ultra SCSI Card Single and dual attached FDDI Card ISDN Modem card 4-port 100-Base-TX and 6 460kb/sec serial ports HIPPI serial cards 1 or 4 port ATM OC3 Digital Video I/O Package Physical Specs: 26" high x 21" wide x 29" deep 69 pounds FCC Class A Rating Optional Redundant Power Supply Graphics System: Features Real time anti-aliasing, texture mapping, VGA->HDTV, Broadcast quality video, 48-bit RGBA color, 32-bit Z buffer, Standard NTSC/PAL/SECAM/S-video output, multiple stereo modes, atmospheric effects, lighting of objects, Gouraud or flat shading, configurable frame buffers, 160 Mhz RAMDAC's Software: C, Fortran, POWER Fortran 77, Power C, dbx, RCS, CASEVision, IRIS Volume Manager, 4D/NQS, IRIX, Workspace, System Manager Common Price: $130,000 in 1993, $1500 in 1999 Year Introduced: 1993 My personal favorite system, notice how much this compares to SGI's own Onyx system? It's the predecessor to the Onyx. It has superb graphics power even compared to nowadays standards, and this was back in 1993, when graphics in the mainstream were rudimentary at best. The Crimson's graphics subsets include ELAN, GTX, VGXT, VTX, and Reality Engine(of which supports IRIX 6.2). You don't see too many of these anymore, as most of them are either in use, or traded in for an Onyx or Onyx2. I like this machine, as you can expand it to fit your needs, although not many places carry upgrades to a machine this old. :( SGI Indy Workstation -------------------- Base CPU: MIPS R4400 at 200 Mhz Optional CPU: MIPS R4600 at 133 Mhz MIPS R5000 at 150 Mhz MIPS R5000 at 180 Mhz RAM capacity: From 16-256 MB DRAM Communication: 2 RS-232 Serial Ports Single Bidirectional Parallel port 10-BaseT Ethernet onboard and VME interface Storage and I/O: 21 MB Floptical drive 535MB, 1.0 GB, 2.0 GB Hard disks 2 GIO-32 expansion slots Graphics Options: XS, XL, Extreme Audio: 16-bit stereo, Digital Audio optional 5 Audio I/O jacks Optional: Ultra SCSI Card Single and dual attached FDDI Card ISDN Modem card CD-ROM drive and MIDI interface 4-port 100-Base-TX and 6 460kb/sec serial ports HIPPI serial cards 1 or 4 port ATM OC3 Digital Video I/O Package Physical Specs: 3" high x 16" wide x 14" deep 16 pounds FCC Class B Rating Graphics System: 8-bit XGE. 24-bit XGE, XZ 24-bit Hardware Accelerated NTSC and PAL support 1 digital video input port Software: IRIX 5.3, POSIX, MIPS ABI, UNIX System V.4, IRIS GL, OpenGL, Media Tools, IRIS Showcase 3.2, MediaMail Common Price: $24,000 in 1994, $800 in 1999 Year Introduced: 1994 The low end of the SGI systems, this is like the O2 in many ways; provides bang for your dollar, even at the low end. Although the specs are somewhat dated, it can still produce dazzling results, and for that reason alone, it's still worth some dollars. Not a whole lot though, as the Indigo2's are a lot better, and provide a lot better performance than the Indy's do. And since they are about the same price..... SGI Indigo Workstation ---------------------- Base CPU: MIPS R3000 at 33 Mhz, 64 kb of L1 cache Optional CPU: MIPS R4000 at 100 Mhz, 1MB of L2 cache, 16 kb of L1 cache RAM capacity: From 8-384 MB DRAM Communication: 2 RS-232 Serial Ports Single Bidirectional Parallel port 10-BaseT Ethernet onboard and VME interface Storage and I/O: 21 MB Floptical drive 535MB, 1.0 GB, 2.0 GB Hard disks 2 GIO-32 expansion slots Graphics Options: XS, XS24, XZ, ELAN Audio: 16-bit stereo, Digital Audio optional 5 Audio I/O jacks, stereo speaker, headphone jacks, monoaural microphone, D/A conversion rate, 8x oversampling Optional: Ultra SCSI Card Single and dual attached FDDI Card ISDN Modem card CD-ROM drive and MIDI interface 100-Base-TX and serial ports HIPPI serial cards 1 port ATM OC3 Digital Video I/O Package Physical Specs: 15" high x 9.5" wide x 10.9" deep 24 pounds FCC Class A Rating Graphics System: Texture mapping, Alpha blending, fog, lighting features depth cueing, soft shadow, stenciling, stereo graphics, pan and zoom, X11 pixel operations, RGB double and single buffer NTSC and PAL support 1 digital video input port Common Price: $30,000 in 1994, $600 in 1999 Year Introduced: 1991 Considered to be the great bargain of all the SGIs on the market, this computer provides the power and speed to get you to where you want to go. It's pretty old, but not worn out. It can go the distance, and people are buying up these old machines left and right. Easy to upgrade, easy to fix, these are probably SGI's easiest to maintain machines ever. And the ELAN graphics subset is still considered one of the best ever for SGI. Too bad their new ones aren't as easy to maintain.......:( SGI Indigo2 Workstation ----------------------- Base CPU: MIPS R4400 at 250 Mhz, 32 kb of L1 cache, 2MB of L2 cache Optional CPU: MIPS R10000 at 175 Mhz, 1MB of L2 cache, 64 kb of L1 cache MIPS R10000 at 195 Mhz, 1MB of L2 cache, 64 kb of L1 cache RAM capacity: From 32-384 MB DRAM(R4400) From 32-640 MB DRAM(R10000) Communication: 2 RS-232 Serial Ports Single Bidirectional Parallel port 10-BaseT Ethernet onboard and VME interface Storage and I/O: 21 MB Floptical drive 535MB, 1.0 GB, 2.0 GB Hard disks 2 GIO-32 expansion slots 3 EISA slots 2 3.5" bays, 1 5.25" bay Graphics Options: XL, XS, XS24, XZ, Extreme Killer(at 175 Mhz), Solid, High, Maximum IMPACT Audio: 16-bit stereo, Digital Audio optional 5 Audio I/O jacks, stereo speaker, headphone jacks, monoaural microphone, D/A conversion rate, 8x oversampling, stereo mic output, combined DAC and ADC 16-bit, 64x oversampling Optional: Ultra SCSI Card Single and dual attached FDDI Card ISDN Modem card CD-ROM drive and MIDI interface 100-Base-TX and serial ports HIPPI serial cards 1 port ATM OC3 Digital Video I/O Package Physical Specs: 5" high x 18.5" wide x 18.5" deep 40 pounds FCC Class A Rating Software: InPerson, AdobeAcrobat, Netscape Navigator, WebSpace, IRIS Showcase, MediaMail, Mindshare Graphics System: Texture mapping, Alpha blending, fog, lighting features depth cueing, soft shadow, stenciling, stereo graphics, pan and zoom, X11 pixel operations, RGB double and single buffer NTSC and PAL support 1 digital video input port Common Price: $40,000 in 1995, $1100 in 1999 Year Introduced: 1994 A good substitute for the Indy, this machine is the most common older style SGI most people buy, because it's pretty new compared with the other models, and it still gets the job done. More powerful than the Indy, this machine is pretty good in all aspects, but like the Indy, you can't expand it a whole lot. That's why I prefer bigger machines, like the Crimson and Onyx. But, the depth of the graphics selections are worthwhile. You can get a lower-end Indigo2, with XS, XZ, and Extreme graphics, or get an Indigo2 with Killer, Solid, High, or Maximum IMPACT, which are still made today. SGI Onyx Supercomputer ---------------------- Base CPU: MIPS R4400SC at 150 Mhz, 32 kb of L1 cache, 1MB of L2 cache 2-24 CPUs per system RAM capacity: From 64MB-16GB DRAM Communication: Up to 16 RS-232 Serial Ports 4 Bidirectional Parallel ports 10-BaseT Ethernet onboard and VME interface, FDDI onboard SCSI-2 Storage and I/O: 21 MB Floptical drive 2.0 GB+ Hard disks 320 MB/sec bandwidth on HIO bus, 50MB/sec on VME64 8 HIO slots 24 VME64 Slots Crossbar: 1.2GB/sec per port system bus 2 3.5" bays, 1 5.25" bay Audio: 16-bit stereo, Digital Audio optional 5 Audio I/O jacks, stereo speaker, headphone jacks, monoaural microphone, D/A conversion rate, 8x oversampling, stereo mic output, combined DAC and ADC 16-bit, 64x oversampling Graphics Options: Extreme, VTX, Reality Engine, Reality Engine2 Optional: Ultra SCSI Card Single and dual attached FDDI Card ISDN Modem card CD-ROM drive and MIDI interface 100-Base-TX and serial ports HIPPI serial cards 1 port ATM OC3 Digital Video I/O Package QIC, DAT, 8mm tape backup drives Physical Specs: 62.3" high x 27" wide x 48" deep 400 pounds FCC Class A Rating Software: IRIX 5.0, POSIX, SVID Issue 3, Unix System V, IRISGL, IRIS Showcase, IRIS Explorer, ANSI C, C++, Fortran 77, Ada, Pascal, Power C, Power Fortran, CASEVision, OpenGL, TCP/IP, NFS, DECnet, LAT, Spectrum SNMP management Graphics System: Texture mapping, Alpha blending, fog, lighting features depth cueing, soft shadow, stenciling, stereo graphics, pan and zoom, X11 pixel operations, RGB double and single buffer, 40-160MB frame buffer, 48-bit RGBA color NTSC/S-Video/SECAM and PAL support 1 digital video input port Common Price: $150,000 in 1993, $6000 in 1999 Year Introduced: 1993 Ah, how SGI's come down in proce. Once a $100,000 computer, now they sell on eBay(not that often) for $4500 or so. Can you believe that? Anything with the InfiniteReality2 engine in it will go for quite a bit of money, due to the extreme power of the engine. If only I had $4500 that day....but, would I suggest this? If you can find a decent newer one, for a good price, don't hesitate to pick this up. It could cost $10-20,000, but that's better than spending $200,000 on a brand new one, isn't it? SGI Challenge server -------------------- Base CPU: MIPS R4400 at 150 Mhz, 32 kb of L1 cache, 1MB of L2 cache(S) 1-4 MIPS R4400 at 150 Mhz, 32 kb of L1 cache, 1MB of L2 cache(DM) 2-12 MIPS R10000, 64 kb of L1 cache, 4MB of L2 cache(L) 2-36 MIPS R10000, 64 kb of L1 cache, 4MB of L2 cache(XL) RAM capacity: From 32MB-256MB ECC DRAM(S) From 64MB to 6GB ECC DRAM(DM) From 64MB to 6GB ECC DRAM(L) From 64MB to 16GB ECC DRAM(XL) Communication: Up to 16 RS-232 Serial Ports 4 Bidirectional Parallel ports 10-BaseT Ethernet onboard and VME interface, FDDI onboard SCSI-2 Storage and I/O: 21 MB Floptical drive 2.0 GB+ Hard disks 320 MB/sec bandwidth on HIO bus, 50MB/sec on VME64 2 GIO slots(S) 6 HIO slots, 5 VME64 Slots(DM, L) 12 HIO slots, 25 VME slots(XL) Crossbar: 267MB/sec per port system bus(S) 1.2GB/sec per port system bus(DM,L,XL) 2 3.5" bays, 1 5.25" bay Audio: 16-bit stereo, Digital Audio optional 5 Audio I/O jacks, stereo speaker, headphone jacks, monoaural microphone, D/A conversion rate, 8x oversampling, stereo mic output, combined DAC and ADC 16-bit, 64x oversampling Optional: Ultra SCSI Card Single and dual attached FDDI Card ISDN Modem card CD-ROM drive and MIDI interface 100-Base-TX and serial ports HIPPI serial cards 1 port ATM OC3 Digital Video I/O Package QIC, DAT, 8mm tape backup drives Physical Specs: 3" high x 16" wide x 14" deep 16 pounds FCC Class A Rating(S) 25.25" high x 20.5" wide x 32" deep 160 pounds FCC Class A Rating(DM, L) 62.3" high x 27" wide x 48" deep 400 pounds FCC Class A Rating(XL) Software: IRIX 6.2(5.3 on S), POSIX, SVID Issue 3, Unix System V, IRISGL, IRIS Showcase, IRIS Explorer, ANSI C, C++, Fortran 77, Ada, Pascal, Power C, Power Fortran, CASEVision, OpenGL, TCP/IP, NFS, DECnet, LAT, Spectrum SNMP management Common Price: $200,000 in 1993, $8000 in 1999(XL model) Year Introduced: 1993 The Challenge servers....the series that replaced the terribly old Power Series in 1992, these computers are the predecessors to the Origin line of computers. In 4 flavors, come the S, DM, L, and XL computers. The S is an Indy-sized server, the DM is an SMP server, and the other two are your standard heavy duty workhorses. I like these comptuers, even the small S server. They are very well built, and pricewise, they aren't too bad at all! ----------------------------------------- 3.2--OLDER CRAY SUPERCOMPUTER INFORMATION I wish I had some older Cray information. I'm leaving this section open to ideas and thoughts from you guys, and I need some help in filling this section out. I'll credit you to the fullest extent for any information pertaining to finding info for older Crays. My email is cmull11217@aol.com. ---------------------------------------------------- 4.0--SGI/CRAY FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS and ANSWERS 36 Questions Answered This section is for the MULTITUDE of questions and answers I have compiled, that are frequently asked. Please, your question might be in here. I have made this up for a reason, so everyone can figure out info from this, and the questions I do get asked, are intelligent, and aren't answered in my FAQ easily. Thanks, and please read on! If there are any errors, please contact me about it. INTRODUCTION/GENERAL FAQs ----Why would you write this FAQ, when there are others available? I'll explain this factoid right here, right now. Yes, there are other Silicon Graphics FAQs available, and they are very well made to begin with. HOWEVER, there are NO CRAY-related FAQs available, AND this FAQ is very different, in that it covers NEW equipment, is not outdated, and has a much different perspective than the others do. I urge you to read the other SGI FAQs out there. Pertaining to the new and used computer systems of SGI and Cray. And when you look at all of the FAQs available, come back to this FAQ, and compare all the information. This "FAQ competition" is just a farce; the reason why I write FAQs, is for YOUR benefit. Please enjoy this FAQ, as it will be updated very much in the future. ----Will you be writing other FAQs? Yes I will, on the various computer systems that I have some experience with. Next will be the IBM AS/400 and RS/6000, followed by Fujitsu/AMDAHL systems, and then perhaps Sun Microsystems computers. But, I still prefer SGIs for a VERY wide range of applications, over the other brands of computers. ----What does XIO mean? What does RGBA mean, etc.? I'm here to help you there. Head down to the GLOSSARY of terms, for more information on those terms, AND LOTS more definitions of terms as well. ----Can you help me with RAM configurations, and a help string in IRIX? Sorry, but my FAQ is not in that jurisdiction. But, go down to the LINKS section, and I have links to places where you can get that information. Thank you. But I can tell you just what kinds of RAM go in each. Look below: 4D/50, 4D/60(Professional Series) Uses Custom SGI RAM. 4D/70, 4D/80, 4D/85(Professional Series) Uses 30-pin 9 chip(parity) memory. 4D/20, 4D/25(Personal Iris) Uses any 30-pin SIMM, from 80-100 nanoseconds 4D/30, 4D/35(Personal Iris), R3000 Indigo Uses custom SGI RAM, common 4D/120-4D/480, Skywriter, 4D/510 Crimson(Power Series) SGI Custom ECC parity RAM R4000 Indigo, Indy, Indigo2, Power Indigo2(except 128MB upgrade on PI2) Uses 72-pin Parity Pagemode RAM Challenge, Power Challenge, Onyx, Power Onyx Custom SGI RAM All NEWER SGI MODELS utilize custom SGI RAM, able to take advantage of the memory bus. ----Why does SGI make Windows NT systems? All for the money, my friend. :) If I were SGI, and in it largely for the money, I would do the same thing. More people feel "confortable" with the Microsoft name than with "IRIX". I personally find that obtrusive, because the people that say that NEVER has tried UNIX for any period of time. I heard this saying from someone on the net, "You see people switching to UNIX from Win NT, but NOT switching from UNIX to Win NT." So, it's a good business move, but I don't think they're necessary in a product line. And, they're substandard to "real" SGIs. ----Are there any newsgroups pertaining to SGI products? Yes, there are, and quite a few of them. Not just one, but a good handful of them. Each deal with a different topic, such as bugs, or audio, etc. Below, are the newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi.announce Announcements for SGI products comp.sys.sgi.admin System Administration on SGIs comp.sys.sgi.apps Applications running on IRIX comp.sys.sgi.audio Audio on SGI comp.sys.sgi.bugs Report bugs in software comp.sys.sgi.graphics Pertaining to graphics and SGIs comp.sys.sgi.hardware General hardware newsgroup comp.sys.sgi.marketplace Buy or sell SGI equipment comp.sys.sgi.misc Miscellaneous stuff CPU FAQs ----Compare MIPS CPUs to Intel CPUs. What a question, eh? Not even an ending punctuation mark denoting the statement as a question.... MIPS stands for Millions of Instructions Per Second. That is the name for the CPU most commonly used in Silicon Graphics computers(Crays actually use DEC/Compaq ALPHA processors!). Intel CPUs have JUST now started to compete on a level with MIPS CPUs, but for 7 years, Intel has been severely lagging behind in CPU development. Intel CPUs, remember, are CISC, using complex instructions, and MIPS breaks them down into REDUCED sets(RISC). So, if an Intel is superscalar, goes 600 Mhz, and has Level 2 cache going as fast as the CPU itself, MIPS may be in trouble(Intel PIII Xeon 2MB). I think, while Intel's CPUs may get better(and AMD with their Athlon, but I wouldn't trust AMD at all with their reliability), there is NO substitute for a MIPS CPU. Why? They are SPECIALLY made for graphics- intensive applications. And, why would you want an SGI, besides the graphics power? See....MIPS does make sense. But, one IMPORTANT thing to realize: An R4400 will NOT beat a Pentium II in performance, perhaps even in floating point. Don't assume, just because it is an SGI, that a 1994 CPU will beat today's Pentium iteration. It won't happen! However, if you want a PIII machine, buy an SGI chip made from the same year or last year. R10000's will kill PIII's in floating point anyday of the week! ----Is Level 1, 2, and 3 cache important in a CPU? Well, I think it is VERY important, more important than 90% of the rest of the computer itself. The high speed cache is something MIPS CPUs basically trademarked(although Intel just figured that out), and come in a variety of caches. Level 1 cache is called PRIMARY cache. It contains instruction and data sets for the CPU itself. It ranges from 16kb to 128kb, and doesn't really affect CPU power a whole lot, since 16-128kb isn't a lot of space. Level 2 cache is called SECONDARY cache. It contains very high speed memory, that is used somewhat like RAM, but with more CPU intensive tasks. Since L2 cache tends to be high speed, the more you have, the better. Level 3 cache is something I wouldn't be concerned about, since only DEC/Compaq Alpha and AMD K6-3 processors have it. It doesn't make a whole lot of difference anyways...:) ----How come SGI uses ALPHA processors for their CRAY Supercomputers? Notice how I never dissed the Alpha processor; it does have Level 3 cache though! :) The reasons for SGI using the Alpha, is perhaps its extreme scala- bility; it can scale up to thousands or CPUs. That's one of the few processes that MIPS processors can't go up to. So, for the time being, SGI is using 21164 Alpha processors in a few Cray applications. HARDWARE FAQs ----Is it worth purchasing a new or used SGI/CRAY? I think it is really worth it for a used SGI, because prices have just gotten reasonable for them(except if you bought one new back in 1993 and kept it..). You won't find used Crays, because they always get traded in for a brand new model or upgraded. Crays never go out of style...:) I'd suggest for used SGIs, getting an IRIS Crimson, later model Personal Iris(loaded), or getting a used Indigo or Indy to start. Then, once you learn more about how SGIs work, then move up to Indigo2 or Challenge servers. Then, get an Octane or O2 used, and eventually, unless your computing needs subside; go for the higher echelon of computers. ----I want an SGI server. Why should I get an SGI, over let's say, a SUN, IBM AS/400, HP/9000, or Fujitsu/AMDAHL? Okay, let's compare these powerful servers, to see which is right for you. Following, is the best attributes of each company: SGI: EXCELLENT Graphics computing, great general computing SUN: Internet related business, security IBM AS/400: Powerful server, lots of options available IBM RS/6000: Internet based server, and has good graphics capability Fujitsu/AMDAHL: AMDAHL servers match Cray servers for scalability, very powerful HP/9000: general computing, security See, the SGI is NOT the best in all tasks. I urge you to compare servers before you purchase one, don't just take my word for it. Then, you'll feel confident, knowing that you got the best for your task as necessary. ----I want an SGI Workstation. Why should I get an SGI. over let's say, a SUN, IBM RS/6000, or Intergraph? Okay, we'll see just what's the best option for you, in which task that needs to be done: SGI: EXCELLENT graphics computing, nice looking SUN: Great general computing, secure IBM RS/6000: Great graphics workstation, not too pricey Intergraph: Good graphics and general computing, Win NT..:( The SGI does a lot better against these heavy hitters. The Intergraph, for a Windows NT machine, does extremely well, although, for all of these, it would either be the IBM or SGI, in my opinion. ----I need a new SGI computer, but am not sure how much I should buy? Okay, well first you need to consider how much you will be upgrading the computer unit. If you're not considering upgrading anything, and need just general computing, an Origin 200 or O2 would do just fine. But, if you need to upgrade a lot, remember this: A fully-loaded OCTANE will do wonders, but it infringes on ONYX2 Price territory. And, when that is the case, I'd go for the Onyx, for the upgrading room. You can't upgrade that loaded OCTANE much. And second, consider what field you are in, and why you need the computer. You could be wanting an SGI, but NEEDING A Cray, or you would be better off with an IBM AS/400, etc. That is very important, so when you get your new computer, you won't be disappointed. ----Describe the Graphics Options, and the power of each. That is a doozy, ain't it though? To be eloquent about such, let me comprise a big listing about which graphics subsets are capable on each platform, to determine what's best for you! B: Server style, no graphics G, GT, GTX: 1280x1024 resolution, 8-24 bit color, 24 bit Z buffer(GT, GTX) Gouraud shading(GT, GTX) XS, XL(XS24), XZ, Elan, Extreme: 1280x1024 resolution(XS, XL, XZ), 24-bit Z buffer(XZ, Elan, Ext.) Gouraud shading(Elan, XZ, Extreme), Geometry Engines(XZ, Elan, Extreme), Video edting options, 36-bit color(Elan, Extreme), 24-bit color(XL, XZ), 8-bit color(XS), software texture mapping Killer, Solid, High, Maximum *Killer Impact only designates slower CPU, same as Solid* IMPACT, SI, SSI, MXI: Software 3D rendering and Z buffer(Solid, SI), hardware texture mapping(High, Max., MXI, SSI), Gouraud shading, upgradable texture memory(High, Maximum, MXI, SSI), 48-bit RGB plus alpha color GXT, VGXT: Higher end GT boardsets, with 24-bit color, Gouraud shading VXT: Reality Engine graphics subset with 1 Geometry engine, otherwise just the same as RE RealityEngine, RealityEngine2, InfiniteReality: real time texture mapping, anti-aliasing, quad buffering, broadcast-quality output, 32-bit Z buffer, 192-bit color?, 48-bit RGBA color, 1280x1024 res(RE), 1920X1200 res(RE2, IR) SE, SSE, MXE: scalable geometry engines(SSE, MXE), hardware texturing(MXE) 36-bit RGBA color(SE, SSE), 48-bit RGBA color(MXE), 1280x1024 resolution(SE, SSE), 1920X1200(MXE), Gouraud shading, and many other effects described above ----What IRIX releases are compatible with each system? This can be quite tricky; when you get a new system without an OS, you have to figure out which one will fit your needs. I have compiled a list of them below, so you can figure out for yourself, just what you need(doesn't count Trusted IRIX releases): Personal Iris(all models): up to IRIX 5.3 Professional Series(4D/50, 60, 70): up to IRIX 4.0.5IPR. Professional Series(4D/80, 85): except for G graphics, up to IRIX 5.3, with G graphics, up to 4.0.5IPR. Power Series(4D/110 to 4D/480 Skywriter): up to IRIX 5.3 IRIS Crimson: VXT and RE, up to IRIX 6.2; GXT, up to IRIX 5.3 Indigo R4000, Indy, Indigo2: up to IRIX 6.2 Indigo R3000: up to IRIX 5.3 Power Indigo2: from IRIX 6.0.1 to 6.2 Challenge/Onyx: up to IRIX 6.2 O2, Octane, Indigo2 R10k IMPACT, Onyx2, Origin200, Origin2000, SGI 2100: utilizes current IRIX OS, 6.5 ----What does "trusted" OS mean? Trusted OS's mean that they weren't official releases, but releases given for a specific purpose, with patches on them, etc. Usually they are brought out to fix a problem, but that is it. ----Is it true that movies are made from SGI/CRAYs? Yes it is very true indeed. Without SGI's power and sophistication, movies like Jurassic Park and Sphere could not have been made. Sure, the computers were souped up supercomputers with TERABYTES of storage, and mountains of RAM; but these SGIs are what made them happen. And they're getting cheap now, so you can pick up an older ONYX, that Steve Spielberg bought to make Jurassic Park! ----So if I get an ONYX, can I make a movie? NO. At least, not without the correct software. In fact, the expenditures really is software, NOT hardware. Because no matter how souped up the hardware is; you need SOFTWARE to take advantage of all that power. And sometimes, you need to design your own stuff. And that's what takes up the time and money. Also, special programs from Alias/ Wavefront will cost you for specialized field work, such as movie making, automotive designing, etc. ----How come RAM is so expensive? I can get 128 MB RAM on my PC for so little.. Sure, you can get that RAM on your PC for so little, but does it contain error checking control? Does it have parity checking? Maybe the reason why it has a special format, is so the computer can take ADVANTAGE of the RAM? There's reasons for that, and that's one reason you must have a little bit of money to buy SGI equipment. ----Which Cray is "entry-level"? Well, for most people, the "entry-level" Cray is about as expensive as a couple of houses, which is the Cray Origin 2000, which holds from 65-256 CPUs. But, that is an SGI server to start with, originally. The "true" Cray entry-level server is null, meaning that ALL the Cray servers, since they each do different tasks, they can't be considered entry-level. They are all around the same price! SGI is starting to get away from calling the Origin 2000 a "CRAY" name, form information provided by Mike Stone. ----What is CrayLink? All Cray supercomputers and the Origin 200 server can use the "Interconnect" system called "CrayLink". That connects more servers up to each other, for maximum scalability. I have no idea why SGI wanted to include that capability on the Origin 200 server, but for the Cray Origin2000 and etc., the need is there for up to 256 and higher CPUs. ----256 CPUs! Wouldn't that be expensive? What do you think? :) The capability to use the 256 processors does cost a lot of money, but for CPU intensive tasks such as 3D modeling and rendering tasks, you need as much as you can get. For vector and parallel processor supercomputing jobs, you need even more. So, just because it is cost-inhibitive right now, doesn't mean that you won't need one in the future. ----Do I have to have a cooling unit? For Crays, YES!! You MUST HAVE A COOLING UNIT, or the computer will shut down. It is a must have, as without it, within a matter of days, the computer will shut down. ----What about vaults for storage? That is a good idea indeed. Instead of having a limited amount of storage for all your needs, you can have a storage vault, to house all your RAID disk needs. You don't have to have RAID to use a vault for hard disks however, but most businesses and people use vaults solely for that reason. It still costs money, but the vault is nothing compared to the cost of filling the vault up to several TERABYTES, which is very cost inhibitive. I still think it's worth it if you need the disk space. ----Why does SGI make different proprietary expansion slots for their different computers? Well, to get more money out of the American spending public. It's not as bad as you would think, as SGI really changes their proprie- tary slots each generation of computers(from GIO and HIO to XIO). It's not a big deal, unless you love buying adapter cards, which then they'll cost you a small fortune. ----Does SGI make notebook computers? NO. They only made a few prorotypes, but the one in Congo is indeed fake. Except for the 20 or so prototypes made of the notebook, there are no compact sized SGIs out on the market. SOFTWARE FAQs ----How come Adobe Photoshop is only version 3.0 on an SGI? Personally, I have no idea why Adobe doesn't upgrade their Photoshop program to 5.5 like on the Mac/PC versions. That means, all UNIX users are stuck with the complacent 3.0 version. Now, new users of Photoshop won't complain, however, if you're used to 5.5 like I am, you'll tend to get ticked off. I mean, you switch to an infinitely better computer, yet get stuck with a less-adapt version of your favorite image-editing program. It's things like that, that make you want to switch to current user programs, made by such companies as SoftImage, Alias/Wavefront, etc. Sure, image editing isn't their forte, but 2D/3D image making and editing is. ----How come programs are more expensive on SGI/CRAY systems? Well, if you own a Cray, you know that programs are specially made for the Cray by various third party companies. For SGIs, many major third party companies make programs for the UNIX OS(IRIX). Of course, there are about 5% of the programs on Windows that have a UNIX version. And, the UNIX versions are about 2x or 3x as much as the Windows/Macintosh version. Why is that? The third parties will tell you that porting programs over to UNIX is a hassle, but it's not. They just want to milk more money out of you, since they figure that if you have a UNIX system, you must have some money rolling in. It's a shame, but something we all must deal with. ----Aren't there any 2D programs on SGIs? Yes there are, but you've got to look to find them. Major third party companies write mostly 3D graphic software for SGIs, citing that "every" computer can do 2D, but "only SGIs can do 3D. I highly disagree; SGIs do EXCELLENT 2D work, and NOT every computer can do 2D work. Look for shareware and freeware files, you're bound to find a treasure in there. ----Will Linux run on my SGI? Yes, in fact there are versions of Linux for UNIX, and can run on SGI equipment(especially the Intel SGI's). But, what's the point? This isn't an Intel machine, this is UNIX. This isn't for anti-Windows OS's that try to be PC-like. I thought running a UNIX machine was a testament to a person's "un-PCness". I don't know why I said that, but...:) Seriously, if it were myself, I'd get Linux and use it, on a GATEWAY 2000 machine. I would shy away from using it on SGI's; especially with it's great UNIX derivative, IRIX. ----Can I run PC/Mac emulators on an SGI? Yes you can run emulators on an SGI to do PC/Windows work, but why would you want to do that? If you own an SGI, chances are pretty good that you've been into computers for a while, and also own another PC for at home or work usage. So, what's the point? Running Quickbooks on an SGI isn't my best idea of utilizing CPUs....:) ----Can I run Compuserve on my SGI? Or how about SpryNet, etc. I seriously get questions amongst this topic ALL THE TIME. For the last time, they can run with a PC emulator, but WHY would you want to do that? Waste CPU usage on COMPUSERVE for crying out loud..... MISCELLANEOUS FAQs ----Why are there broken links in this FAQ? Well, they wouldn't be broken, if you guys/gals would tell me?! :) To be honest, please let me know if any links are broken, or if any info I have listed is incorrect. Remember, once information is spread, it spreads like wildfire. Wrong information, could end up costing many people, instead of just one. Please email me at cmull11217@aol.com to report any discrepancies or broken links. I fully appreciate it. ----Where can I buy SGI equipment, new or used? I'm glad you asked. At the LINKS section below, are links to reputable dealers and people that sell new and used SGI equipment. The ones I deem "reputable" are actually trustworthy because I have dealt with them. 99% of the internet is full of good people. It's the 1% that ruins it for all, and in my links section, I'll do my best not to point you to any 1 percenters. ----What's the connection between SGI and Nintendo? Nintendo, video game manufacturer extraordinaire, while designing a new video game console in 1995, started a contract with SGI for use of their MIPS processors and bought several ONYX supercomputers. Now known as the Nintendo 64, introduced in late 1996, still has MIPS 64-bit power inside it, and most of the games on it today are containing graphics that are SGI made. Here's hoping that SGI and Nintendo will have a future, as the Nintendo 64 is dying off.... ----What makes you qualified to write this FAQ? I'll explain that premonition, and why I write FAQs. I have always liked computers to some extent, and learned various OSes(OS/2, DR-DOS, etc.) and intricacies of them as well. After high school football and cost overruns up the behind, I'm ready to dig into my creative side. But, after 2 years of doing heavy grpahics work, these Wintel PCs I use just don't cut it anymore. I have learned a lot of how workstations and servers work, and I thought (I have written MANY FAQs for arcade video game platforms)that most people just want it all in plain English. The transition from a PC to SGI or SUN is tremendous, but this FAQ is geared to help out with the learning process. -------------------------------------- 5.0--GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Here is the GLOSSARY of terms and definitions for SGI and CRAY computers. Inside, there are many terms and definitions that maybe you might not know what it REALLY means offhand. Well, if that's the case, then in here's the answer! Enjoy! ATM: Asynchronous Transfer Mode; this is another way to send packets of data, using fixed length cells CrayLink Interconnect: An interconnecting system for SGI and Cray servers to share CPUs and data in storage. Can be expensive when fully configured. Crossbar: The maximum bandwidth of data being sent from the CPU to the expansion slots and ports. ECC: Error Checking Control, which is a type of RAM (memory)in most SGI computers. A lot less apt to fail or compute wrong with ECC than regular RAM. FC-AL: Symbol for Fibre Channel, which is a medium for high speed hard drives, providing throughput of up to 200 MB/second. Can use either copper or fiber wires. FDDI: Stands for Fiber Optic Distributed Data Interface; like a fiber token ring network system, up to 12.5 MB/sec. Gigaflop(GFLOP): See Megaflop(MFLOP). GIO Expansion Slot: Expansion slots for older SGI Indigo and Challenge S computers, and anything else that's not a server or supercomputer before 1996 HIO Expansion Slot: Expansion slots for older SGI Onyx and Challenge L, XL computers, higher speed than GIO, usually on servers and supercomputers before 1997 HIPPI: Stands for High Performance Parallel Interface; can use copper and/or fiber; and operates bidirectionally for a total of 1.6GB/second. IRIX: SGI's UNIX derivative, currently runs all SGI computers. Has an excellent graphical interface. Megaflop(MFLOP): A megaflop is equal to One million floating point calculations per second. A Gigaflop is one billion per second, and a teraflop is one trillion per second. MIPS: Stands for Millions of Instructions per second; and the label and company that makes microprocessors for SGI computers and other products RGBA: Stands for Red, Green, and Blue; PLUS Alpha. Alpha is buffering and a subset of the regular pixels. For example, 48-bit RGBA is 32-bit RGB plus 16-bit Alpha. SCSI: Stands for Small Computer Systems Interface; the main standard as a medium for hard drives; provides better throughput overall than ATA drives SGI: Silicon Graphics Incorporated; maker of fine servers, workstations, and supercomputers; also makes the Cray supercomputers SMP: Symmetrical Multi-processing; this technology makes multi-processing available SSD: Stands for Solid State Disk; infinitely faster than a standard hard disk, but just a LITTLE slower than standard RAM; worthwhile option Teraflop(TFLOP): See Megaflop(MFLOP). UNICOS: Unix CRAY Operating System; for use on Cray super- computers only; is able to maintain thousands of CPUs per system UNICOS/mk: See UNICOS. UNIX: Operating system perfected for use on servers and workstations; usually doesn't support Intel CISC processors XIO Expansion Slot: Newer style expansion slot on all SGI newer servers, workstations and supercomputers, very fast speed, on most SGIs from 1997 onward If there's any I missed, that you feel deserves mention in here, please e-mail me, and I'll probably stick it in here. :) ------------------------- 6.0--LINKS TO OTHER SITES Here, is a list of various web sites, and links to them underneath, in text. Please enjoy! There are a multitude of them here, so please stop and look around! Affiliated Remarketing: Search a database of various SGI, SUN, Compaq, IBM servers for sale! Amazing.com: Dave Dennis's excellent "Buy old SGI" FAQ and other goodies are here. Check this place out! B+B Solutions: Another reputable trader and seller of SGI stuff, as well as Intergraph and Sun Concorde Group: Good, trustworthy dealer of SGI equipment Ian Mapleson's SGI Page: Excellent source of information, superb format, contains lots of info on older equipment MemoryX: Good source of RAM for SGI and SUN products Minicomputer Exchange: Dealer of new and used SGI and SUN equipment, very reliable, recommended! Reputable Systems: Another fine seller and information center, pertaining to mostly SGI equipment SGI: The company which makes top notch graphics workstations and servers, and what this FAQ deals with SGI FAQ Group: Excellent, albeit dated information on SGIs and what they do, such as movie and music authoring, etc. SGI TechPubs: Want white papers and datasheets for your favorite SGI products? Go here. This old SGI: Great place for info on how to fix up OLD SGIs World Data Products: Good seller of server equipment, a little pricey XS International: Great dealer of SGI equipment, needs an updated price list however.... -------------------------------------------- 6.1--MISCELLANEOUS STUFF and VERSION HISTORY What goes here, is miscellaneous things that don't fit into the above FAQ. I'm writing more FAQs, such as the IBM AS/400 FAQ, and such; and need your input on them. If there is anything to add, please let me know. I will be getting some more SGI equipment soon, for my start-up magazine publishing company, and do a little ISP stuff on the side for extra cash. Here below, is the FAQ's version history: v.1.0: First iteration of the SGI/CRAY FAQ, a good start. (9/10/99) V.1.1: New questions answered and new specs for older SGI Equipment. (10/25/99) Coming up to my SGI FAQ! v.1.2: More questions answered... ----------------------------------- 6.2--PEOPLE TO THANK FOR THEIR HELP I'd like to thank the following people, for their help, for their information, and other such things. God: May Him lead the way, and I give many thanks to Him for all his support of me through the years. Dave Dennis: For his "amazing" work on the Old SGI FAQ. Chris Ray and Dion Dakis: For their help and support as good friends. Ian Mapleson: For providing me with lots of info on the older SGIs. Southgate Anderson High School Football Team: For working me to death during the season. :) A good run I had.... Mike Stone: Giving me a little constructive criticism, and some correct info....:) And anyone else I forgot to mention. ------------------------ 6.3--FINAL CLOSING POINT It's been a long FAQ, but it keeps getting better every time I do it. And I certainly appreciate you readers for giving me the inspiration to keep this going, and will do so for a long while. No matter what predicament I am in, I always take solace in the fact, that I enjoy doing things for the common learning experience of the people on the internet, and abroad. Expect a lot out of Chris Mullins for the future, and please enjoy this FAQ, and my many others that I've written. Have a good one. --Christopher B. Mullins, 10 September 1999 THIS FAQ IS NOT ENDORSED BY SILICON GRAPHICS, INC. I DO NOT HOLD MYSELF LIABLE FOR ANY POTENTIAL RISK BY READING THIS FAQ, BY ANY MEANS. THANK YOU. :) |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| /--------------------------------------\ /|--------------------------------------|\ < | Chris Mullins's SGI/CRAY FAQ v. 1.1 | > \|--------------------------------------|/ \--------------------------------------/