[rescue] Sources of IRIX

[Scott Quinn]

An Indy with R5000SC and 256MB of RAM isn't too bad. Keep in mind that you'll be using older software (most likely).
The ones to avoid are the R4000PC and the much-improved but still slow R4600PC (no secondary cache on either).

If you have enough RAM go with a version of IRIX 6. You'll find them much easier to work with and easier to find or build software for. 6.5.22 is the last version that will run on that box, and it isn't much slower than 6.2 (keep in mind there were only about 2 years between IRIX 6.2 and IRIX 6.5). The development headers and libraries were freely available for 6.5 and 6.2, so if you use GCC there won't be any questions. I believe that MIPSpro, should you come across a copy, generally just nagged rather than errored out if you didn't have a license. MIPSpro is much less tolerant of GNUisms and sloppy code then GCC, so you may find your life easier if you install the Development Foundations/Development Libraries and just use GCC.

The thing to keep in mind with Indy is that most do not have a Z-buffer. Indy R5000 with a SGI-version of the Creator3d or similar would have been a big upgrade over XL graphics, but SGI was looking to O2 by then and the Indy R5k was a quick and cheap refresh of their low end. Fuel is supposed to be fast and light (don't have one), but Octane and Indigo2 owners seem to report fewer problems.

I moved and don't have my "classic" boxes with me yet - I need to find a place for them and smuggle them in because I'm starting to miss them.