Silicon Graphics - Old-School UNIX

[Kithop]

After getting a special monitor cable to adapt it (13W3, Sync-on-Green) to standard VGA, I've now got a fully maxed out, $15,000 beast... at least... circa 1992. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-8f-GqkOZo

It even runs Doom!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmJJvqc5q7k

It's an SGI Indigo "Hollywood" (IP12 + XS24z):

• MIPS R3000A 32-bit CPU @ 33MHz
• XS24z Graphics - GE7 Geometry Engine, RE3 Raster Engine, HQ2 Command Engine, VC1, XMAP5, two VM2 video RAM modules and a Z-buffer
• 96MB RAM (Maxed out!)
• 3 x 424MB 50-pin SCSI Hard Disks
• 10Mbit Thicknet (with AUI -> Ethernet adapter)
• SGI IRIX 5.3

I can't find a build of Quake or anything newer for it, as those were built for the 64-bit MIPS R4000 and newer, but it does have OpenGL support (and screensavers!), as well as digital audio for playing back those WAVs and MP3s (but no MIDI-capable synthesis, aside from installing something in software).  Oh, and I found the last build of Netscape Communicator 4.08 for it.  It loads pages!  ... without Javascript or anything working, of course.

Fun trivia - the top-end version of this machine with the Elan graphics board is seen in the movie Jurassic Park, along with some of its newer brethren.  That funky 3D system the kids use is actually a real, working application ('fsn') - that I have installed. :)

[Owl]

After getting a special monitor cable to adapt it (13W3, Sync-on-Green) to standard VGA, I've now got a fully maxed out, $15,000 beast... at least... circa 1992. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-8f-GqkOZo

It even runs Doom!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmJJvqc5q7k

It's an SGI Indigo "Hollywood" (IP12 + XS24z):

• MIPS R3000A 32-bit CPU @ 33MHz
• XS24z Graphics - GE7 Geometry Engine, RE3 Raster Engine, HQ2 Command Engine, VC1, XMAP5, two VM2 video RAM modules and a Z-buffer
• 96MB RAM (Maxed out!)
• 3 x 424MB 50-pin SCSI Hard Disks
• 10Mbit Thicknet (with AUI -> Ethernet adapter)
• SGI IRIX 5.3

I can't find a build of Quake or anything newer for it, as those were built for the 64-bit MIPS R4000 and newer, but it does have OpenGL support (and screensavers!), as well as digital audio for playing back those WAVs and MP3s (but no MIDI-capable synthesis, aside from installing something in software).  Oh, and I found the last build of Netscape Communicator 4.08 for it.  It loads pages!  ... without Javascript or anything working, of course.

Fun trivia - the top-end version of this machine with the Elan graphics board is seen in the movie Jurassic Park, along with some of its newer brethren.  That funky 3D system the kids use is actually a real, working application ('fsn') - that I have installed. :)

We gotta run some Doom deathmatch on it

[gallenw]

That's waay cool! I've always wanted an empty O2 shell just for display. One day.

[Tripp]

That's waay cool! I've always wanted an empty O2 shell just for display. One day.

I've got 2 SGI O2s sitting here doing nothing if you want to take one off my hands ^^

[Kithop]

I've got 2 SGI O2s sitting here doing nothing if you want to take one off my hands ^^

Hah!  I'm tempted!  Something that can run IRIX 6.x (my Indigos only do 5.x max)... :p  There's a bunch of old abandoned SGI software on archive.org I grabbed the ISOs for, too, so being able to NFS mount stuff is great.

Apparently a modded O2 ran The Weather Network.

My main issue is just... wondering what to do with them other than 'get them working'.

[gallenw]

I've got 2 SGI O2s sitting here doing nothing if you want to take one off my hands ^^

Ahhhhh I'd really want one, but I'm renting and want to keep minimal possessions. If I ever get a place, I will defo ask if you've got one still around :3

PS: Apologies for the late reply!

[Tripp]

Hah!  I'm tempted!  Something that can run IRIX 6.x (my Indigos only do 5.x max)... :p  There's a bunch of old abandoned SGI software on archive.org I grabbed the ISOs for, too, so being able to NFS mount stuff is great.

Apparently a modded O2 ran The Weather Network.

My main issue is just... wondering what to do with them other than 'get them working'.

*quietly raises self from the dead and saunters back in*


That's the same problem I have! They both work, and I got them up and connected to the internet but... What then? lol. Even my oldest smart phone is significantly faster than both the O2s combined and uses a fraction of the power.

Ahhhhh I'd really want one, but I'm renting and want to keep minimal possessions. If I ever get a place, I will defo ask if you've got one still around :3

PS: Apologies for the late reply!

I think I take the cake wrt to late replies, so no worries! I've had 'em for a couple years, and I don't see them going anywhere anytime soon, so just let me know :D

[spuug]

I used some SGI workstations for one of my computer graphics courses in 1992.
SGI model 30, running IRIX 4.x I think.  The Indigo was new.  Jurassic Park was
in production -- my prof knew about it, but couldn't tell us directly.  He did try to
get me to animate dinosaur skeletons rather than human skeletons, with data
from the Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology.  We learned SGI's GL, before there
was OpenGL.  I was wanting to write a whole physics engine in  2 months, with
other courses to work on, too.  And the prof wanted me to learn more physics,
at a level I didn't know yet.  I ended up dropping the course when I realized I had
bitten off more than I could chew.