Retro Hardware&software Sgi In The Brave New World

[Bruce Morgan]

Hello
I am using some old SILICON GRAPHICS (SGI) 320 visual workstations(NT4 -aftereffect etc ) These are linked with origin 200 servers in a LAN with Samba software as a way to convert windows files to SGI files or Linux files .
Sometimes after a composite we peg up the resulting scene and shot it back onto 35mm film with a Mitchell camera .
I have been offered a whole mess of octanes ( Octane 1 and Two ) and a mess of software too.
I know S G I hardware and systems Was great stuff .This series as some will know was UNIX IRIX Based
and it does not have (to my immediate memory a cross over tanslatability to Linux based files which EVERYONE WILL BE USING ..it seems
But can anyone advise me as to the wisdom or folly in useing and maintaining such equipment and of course unix software for:
-3d modeling ?
-3D Matts for film projects ?
-animation ?
-concept art ?
-realtime demos in research and documentary work .?

I am concerned that the new High Def wide screen world has possibly wiped the slate clean on this old equipment so i need to decide soon if I am going to take all this on (old equipment and software).
Any advice or war stories on mataining the old sgi equipment and software or its viable use in our changing Times is much appreciated .
Thanks
and Cheers
Bruce :thumbup:

 

[ChuckS]

The Octane's were great computers, they had a crossbar switch which meant each sub system was seperate so if you wanted to blast 1920x1080 pixels to the screen it could go directly from the drive (I/O) to the graphics and back. ON PC's and Mac's it essentially falls on the floor which is why they have to render. You could edit full bandwidth HD (192MB/s) in real time. There isn't a PC or Mac on the planet that can do that.

BUT... SGI no longer supprts IRIX, I doubt Discreet supports any versions of Flame, Inferno or Smoke that runs on IRIX and now that all HD is compressed you don't really need the kind of horsepower an Octane can provide. Getting more RAM would be problamatic and new PC's with PCIe and SLI graphics perform almost as well as early Onyx's.

I have a deskside Onyx2 [it had 4 or 8GB's RAM that fried], 4proc Origin 2000 with 4 Ciprico 7000's and 4 320's that I don't think I've even turned on in more than three years.

Those were the days...

 

[Bruce Morgan]

great reply
That figures .They were far ahead on fast display .
I imagine if one was outputting High rez prints there could be a use
BUT Then as you mentioned
NO SUPPORT - HArd to find parts .
I use the old 320 visual workstationn of 60 i edits standard ntsc and for outputting limited 2 d matts and composites for film .
I imagine you have not used your SGI 320 computer set due to them being slow and unable to support the NEW GRAIL Hi Def Wind Screen work ?
Well thanks for solving that issue .
Cheers
Bruce