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Can you swap motherboards on Indigo2 purple different generations? - Printable Version

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Can you swap motherboards on Indigo2 purple different generations? - roach-commuter - 02-17-2021

The other day I learned that there are some purple IP22 R4400 Indigo2's out there which have Solid Impact graphics and the necessary power supply + backplane combo. So the question arose: is it possible to swap the R4400 + IP22 motherboard with an R10000 +  IP28 motherboard while keeping all the rest? Has anyone tried?

RE: Can you swap motherboards on Indigo2 purple different generations? - robespierre - 02-17-2021

This was indeed an upgrade that was performed "back in the day". You need to make sure the PSU has sufficient ratings for the IP28, I do not recall what it needs offhand.
When the system was upgraded to R10000, there was a sticker placed over the SYSID on the back panel.

RE: Can you swap motherboards on Indigo2 purple different generations? - jpstewart - 02-18-2021

(02-17-2021, 10:22 PM)robespierre Wrote:  You need to make sure the PSU has sufficient ratings for the IP28

The R10K (IP28) power supplies are part numbers 060-0027-001 and 060-8002-001 according to Doug Mashek's site.

RE: Can you swap motherboards on Indigo2 purple different generations? - jan-jaap - 02-18-2021

(02-17-2021, 10:22 PM)robespierre Wrote:  This was indeed an upgrade that was performed "back in the day". You need to make sure the PSU has sufficient ratings for the IP28, I do not recall what it needs offhand.
When the system was upgraded to R10000, there was a sticker placed over the SYSID on the back panel.

I have one of those:

[Image: IMG_5437_sm.JPG]

The yellow sticker is probably an asset tag from the original owner of the system.

Here's the full list of Indigo2 Power Supply part numbers:

RE: Can you swap motherboards on Indigo2 purple different generations? - roach-commuter - 02-18-2021

(02-18-2021, 09:42 AM)jan-jaap Wrote:  Here's the full list of Indigo2 Power Supply part numbers:
  • 9430814     POWER SUPPLY AC/DC 406W 6 OUTPUT FR      Suitable for Extreme, XZ and XL graphics on R4400 and R8000 machines. Also for Challenge M systems.
  • 060-8001-001 POWER SUPPLY AC/DC 385W 7-OUTPUT FR     Suitable for single-head (Solid, High or Max) IMPACT graphics and dual-head Solid/Solid IMPACT graphics on R4400 machines. Can also be used in place of 9430814.
  • 060-0021-002 POWER SUPPLY AC/DC 390W 7-OUTPUT FR     Suitable for dual-head (Max/Solid, High/High or High/Solid) IMPACT graphics on R4400 machines. Can also be used in place of 9430814 or 060-8001-xxx.
  • 060-8002-001 POWER SUPPLY AC/DC 3.3V 7-OUTPUT FR     Suitable for single-head IMPACT graphics on R10000 machines.
  • 060-0027-002 POWER SUPPLY AC/DC 390W 7-OUT 3.3V FR   Suitable for dual-head IMPACT graphics on R10000 machines. Can also be used in place of 060-8002-xxx.


First of all, thanks for the list! So if I get this correctly, a model number 060-8001-001 cannot be used for an IP28 R10K , can it?

RE: Can you swap motherboards on Indigo2 purple different generations? - jan-jaap - 02-18-2021

(02-18-2021, 06:03 PM)roach-commuter Wrote:  So if I get this correctly, a model number 060-8001-001 cannot be used for an IP28 R10K , can it?

Well, SGI didn't certify that part# for the R10K systems. Instead there's a new part# (not merely a new revision). Companies don't do that for no reason -- it costs money.

At the same time, the current ratings are nearly identical, and Ian Mapleson lists all IMPACT power supplies as "for R4K/R10K" and he's no newbie. I guess it's safe to assume it won't burst into flames right away. But ask him -- I won't be responsible ...

NB: I used to have an Indigo R4000 'Entry'. I put Elan graphics into it and the PSU blew up. That's when I found out there's a different PSU for R3K and R4K Indigos, and mine had an R3K PSU of course. The R4K Indigo2 PSU may be a similar case: it may work with an R10K, unless you put a MaxImpact graphics and lots of RAM or a couple of hot-running SCSI disks. Who knows.

RE: Can you swap motherboards on Indigo2 purple different generations? - Trippynet - 02-18-2021

It should work fine with the R10k, however due to the lower maximum power output, I'd avoid running it with a beefy graphics card as well. An R10k and SolidIMPACT should be fine. No harm in double-checking with Ian however. Generally speaking, if he lists it for both R10k and R4k then he's almost certainly tested it successfully with both.

RE: Can you swap motherboards on Indigo2 purple different generations? - roach-commuter - 02-18-2021

Oh I see,that's very interesting. Thank you!

RE: Can you swap motherboards on Indigo2 purple different generations? - weblacky - 02-19-2021

Ah. The most elusive 060-0027-002 POWER SUPPLY AC/DC 390W 7-OUT 3.3V FR, I've never seen one for sale (outside of Ian) and I've never seen one in the wild. A rare, ungettable treasure. No price would do, it's just that elusive. How much is too much? Well, too much. But that's for another adventure.

RE: Can you swap motherboards on Indigo2 purple different generations? - jan-jaap - 02-19-2021

(02-19-2021, 03:48 AM)weblacky Wrote:  Ah.  The most elusive 060-0027-002 POWER SUPPLY AC/DC 390W 7-OUT 3.3V FR, I've never seen one for sale (outside of Ian) and I've never seen one in the wild.  A rare, ungettable treasure.  No price would do, it's just that elusive.  How much is too much? Well, too much. But that's for another adventure.

Yeah, things were better better 15 or 20 years ago. My own Indigo2 R10000 was pieced together from bits. At the time I sometimes helped out with IRIX related problems at a CAD/CAM company across the hallway where I worked and they donated me the carcass of an R10K Indigo2, without memory, PSU and graphics card. I didn't mind: I already owned a teal Indigo2 R4400 which had a MaxIMPACT w./ TRAM option inside (lucky find of the century: HFL 50, roughly €20). So all I had to buy was a PSU, and I ended up buying the infamous 060-0027-002 from Mashek I think, to be sure it would run the MaxIMPACT and whatever else I might end up throwing at the system:

[Image: IMG_5443_sm.JPG]

That Indigo2 was my main system for many years, until the Octanes started to come off-lease and dropped in price. Over the years I put in more memory (GigaRAM hack), a G160 fast ethernet card and a faster disk (Cheetah 15K.3 I think). It still puts a grin on my face when I use it :-)

[Image: IMG_5444_sm.JPG]