[rescue] 1st SGI purchase

[Jonathan C. Patschke]

> A friend is looking to purchase something SGI-ish. I recall that certain
> models are to be avoided for the 1st time user (like anything needing
> personal irix??).

Avoid the Indy.  It's a nice machine, but the NVRAM issue is enough to
burn anyone away from SGIs forever.  Also, avoid any "deskside" as a first
system.  There's a lot more hardware to wrestle with, and they eat lots of
electricity.

> Any recommendations? Mostly he's looking at the Indigos/Octanes on ebay. Or,
> if anyone here has something decent with a decent price let me know.

Indigo2 workstations and Octanes are both lovely machines.  I've run both
as a desktop.  For an Indigo2, you really want Impact gfx, preferably High
Impact or Max Impact.  You also probably want an R10k CPU, since the cost
difference between an R4400 HI and R10k HI is very modest.  If you're
strapped for cash, R4400 @ 250MHz + Extreme gfx is still a nice computer.

> He's looking to:
> 1) have a new machine to get all excited about (he's a solaris sysadmin at
> my company)

Indigo2s are good for this.  Mine still takes quite a beating as an
everything server and compile host.  It's a great workhorse.

> or, if affordable
> 2) play with 3D stuff/animation/artsy stuff.

You probably want an Octane for that.  They're also insanely cheap.
There's one -really- important thing to watch for, though.  There is a
particular revision of the system board (ending in -003) that is prone to
a failure condition that is irreparable caused by weak solder points
between the system board and the HEART chip.  Google for the threads "The
day the Octane died." and "The Octane Lives Again!" in
comp.sys.sgi.hardware with my name for more information about this
problem.

Just ask the seller the part number of the system board.  I -think- this
can be pulled out of hinv, but I'm not sure, and I'm away from my Octane,
so I can't find out.  If not, it's printed on the board.

You won't run into this problem on any newer Octane (most equipped with
E-series or V-series gfx), but a lot of the older entry-level Octanes on
eBay have the -003 motherboard.  If you get a machine with that
motherboard, do yourself a favor and return it immediately, claiming an
intermittent boot failure.  It'll probably happen eventually, anyway.

--Jonathan