Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
SGI Indy
The Indy, code-named "Guinness", is a low-end multimedia workstation introduced on July 12, 1993 by Silicon Graphics Incorporated (SGI). SGI developed, manufactured, and marketed Indy as the lowest end of its product line, for computer-aided design (CAD), desktop publishing, and multimedia markets. It competed with Intel x86 computers, and with Windows and Macintosh, including using their files and running their applications via software emulation. It is the first computer to come standard with a video camera, called IndyCam.
Indy was repackaged as a server model called Challenge S. Indy was discontinued on June 30, 1997, and support ended on December 31, 2011.
The Indy is one of the smaller form factors of the time (41 cm × 36 cm × 8 cm). The sturdy, electric-blue colored "pizza box" chassis is comparable to a contemporary small desktop PC, and is intended to fit underneath a large CRT monitor.[citation needed] Designed for multimedia use, the Indy includes analog and digital I/O, 6-channel digital audio processing, SCSI, and inputs for composite and S-Video. It has ISDN and Ethernet ports. It is the first computer to include a video camera, called IndyCam.
The base Indy model was launched in July 1993 at US$5,000 (equivalent to about $10,900 in 2024), without a hard drive, or diskless, and is intended for networked use. The model with 2 GB hard drive was launched at $7,500. The base model was launched with 16 MB of RAM and can be expanded to 256 MB. Later in 1993, that duo was updated to have the base model with a 535 MB hard drive ($5,995 in January 1994) and the high end with 24-bit color, 32 MB RAM, and 1 GB hard drive ($16,495 in January 1994). In March 1994, the series was refreshed with a new 150 MHz R4400 CPU, and the low end model has 8-bit color, 32 MB RAM, 535 MB hard drive, and 16-inch 1280 x 1024 monitor for $15,495 (equivalent to $32,900 in 2024) and the high end has 24-bit color, 64 MB RAM, 1 GB hard drive for $22,995 (equivalent to $48,800 in 2024).
Sales of low-cost high-performance workstations were projected to triple from 1994 to 1999, and competition for that market increased between Sun and SGI. In February 1995, SGI targeted "high-performance iron" at junior engineers by refreshing the Indy series with two models: the Indy Modeler PC and SC systems starting at $15,800 with a 133 MHz R4600 CPU, 1 GB hard drive, 32 MB of RAM, and 20-inch monitor. Time Warner Cable and US West created an experimental interactive video-on-demand service via cable television, based on Indy.
The optional floptical drive uses 21 MB disks and standard 3.5" magnetic floppy disks.
Indy's motherboard has a socket for the Processor Module (PM). Indy was launched with a 100 MHz MIPS R4000PC microprocessor upgrade option. The Indy, at the bottom of SGI's price list, was then upgraded with the MIPS R4400 and the low-cost, low-power-consumption Quantum Effect Devices (QED) R4600. The R4600 has higher integer performance, but lesser floating-point capability. The R4600 appears outside the Indy line briefly once, in the SGI Indigo². A number of limits, such as the series of microprocessor issues, the relatively low-powered graphics boards, lower maximum RAM amount, and relative lack of internal expansion ability compared to the SGI Indigo, led to the Indy being pejoratively described by industry insiders as "An Indigo without the 'go'."[citation needed]
As the R4600 chip itself has no L2 cache controller, an external controller is used to add 512K of L2 cache. R4600s processor modules, both with an L2 cache (SC) and without (PC), have been produced for the Indy. At the same clock rate, the SC version of the processor module is generally 20 to 40 percent faster than the PC version, due to the memory cache.
Hub AI
SGI Indy AI simulator
(@SGI Indy_simulator)
SGI Indy
The Indy, code-named "Guinness", is a low-end multimedia workstation introduced on July 12, 1993 by Silicon Graphics Incorporated (SGI). SGI developed, manufactured, and marketed Indy as the lowest end of its product line, for computer-aided design (CAD), desktop publishing, and multimedia markets. It competed with Intel x86 computers, and with Windows and Macintosh, including using their files and running their applications via software emulation. It is the first computer to come standard with a video camera, called IndyCam.
Indy was repackaged as a server model called Challenge S. Indy was discontinued on June 30, 1997, and support ended on December 31, 2011.
The Indy is one of the smaller form factors of the time (41 cm × 36 cm × 8 cm). The sturdy, electric-blue colored "pizza box" chassis is comparable to a contemporary small desktop PC, and is intended to fit underneath a large CRT monitor.[citation needed] Designed for multimedia use, the Indy includes analog and digital I/O, 6-channel digital audio processing, SCSI, and inputs for composite and S-Video. It has ISDN and Ethernet ports. It is the first computer to include a video camera, called IndyCam.
The base Indy model was launched in July 1993 at US$5,000 (equivalent to about $10,900 in 2024), without a hard drive, or diskless, and is intended for networked use. The model with 2 GB hard drive was launched at $7,500. The base model was launched with 16 MB of RAM and can be expanded to 256 MB. Later in 1993, that duo was updated to have the base model with a 535 MB hard drive ($5,995 in January 1994) and the high end with 24-bit color, 32 MB RAM, and 1 GB hard drive ($16,495 in January 1994). In March 1994, the series was refreshed with a new 150 MHz R4400 CPU, and the low end model has 8-bit color, 32 MB RAM, 535 MB hard drive, and 16-inch 1280 x 1024 monitor for $15,495 (equivalent to $32,900 in 2024) and the high end has 24-bit color, 64 MB RAM, 1 GB hard drive for $22,995 (equivalent to $48,800 in 2024).
Sales of low-cost high-performance workstations were projected to triple from 1994 to 1999, and competition for that market increased between Sun and SGI. In February 1995, SGI targeted "high-performance iron" at junior engineers by refreshing the Indy series with two models: the Indy Modeler PC and SC systems starting at $15,800 with a 133 MHz R4600 CPU, 1 GB hard drive, 32 MB of RAM, and 20-inch monitor. Time Warner Cable and US West created an experimental interactive video-on-demand service via cable television, based on Indy.
The optional floptical drive uses 21 MB disks and standard 3.5" magnetic floppy disks.
Indy's motherboard has a socket for the Processor Module (PM). Indy was launched with a 100 MHz MIPS R4000PC microprocessor upgrade option. The Indy, at the bottom of SGI's price list, was then upgraded with the MIPS R4400 and the low-cost, low-power-consumption Quantum Effect Devices (QED) R4600. The R4600 has higher integer performance, but lesser floating-point capability. The R4600 appears outside the Indy line briefly once, in the SGI Indigo². A number of limits, such as the series of microprocessor issues, the relatively low-powered graphics boards, lower maximum RAM amount, and relative lack of internal expansion ability compared to the SGI Indigo, led to the Indy being pejoratively described by industry insiders as "An Indigo without the 'go'."[citation needed]
As the R4600 chip itself has no L2 cache controller, an external controller is used to add 512K of L2 cache. R4600s processor modules, both with an L2 cache (SC) and without (PC), have been produced for the Indy. At the same clock rate, the SC version of the processor module is generally 20 to 40 percent faster than the PC version, due to the memory cache.