[Unxmaal]

What's the easiest SGI system for a SGI novice to obtain and to work with?

I'm in the Atlanta area, and it seems difficult to find gear and support locally. I've asked on the local Vintage Computing forums, but got no response.

[gijoe77]

probably the easiest, smallest, least noisy and cheapest might be an o2, but you really would want to keep away from the lower specc'd ones. do not buy a 180mhz model. absolute worst case get 200mhz R5k. 300mhz R5k is good. R10k o2 might be even better if you can get 250mhz or higher CPU, but these models are the premium models and harder to get for very cheap.

If size and noise isn't a problem then get an Octane/Octane2.

If size, noise and money isn't a problem get a Tezro.

This is of course my opinion, you can read more about our collective thoughts here <URL url="https://forums.irix.cc/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=67"><LINK_TEXT text="viewtopic.php?f=7&t=67">https://forums.irix.cc/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=67</LINK_TEXT>

[Irinikus]

The most readily available machine that'll do the most damage is definitely the Octane. (They're cheap, have good performance relatively speaking, and there're plenty of spares available.)

[bjames]

For a first machine, I would recommend and O2 as stated above. The O2 comes with a built in CD-Rom, making installation of software and sharing files much easier. All other SGIs (that im aware of) would require an external SCSI CD-Rom... that is compatible.

[gijoe77]

I gotta add if you are buying an o2 for the CDROM support, ask the seller if they can verify if the CDROM is still working - alot of o2 CDROMS are starting to go...

[Trippynet]

Another advantage of the O2 for a complete newbie is that it has VGA out. Most other SGIs use 13W3 which means you need an adapter - well, apart from Fuel and Tezro of course (DVI).

[cris_adder]

The comments above say it all, O2 is one of the most user friendly SGI machines given it's configuration.

[Trippynet]

I agree it's one of the most newbie-friendly systems. Main issues are just that it's not very fast, and can be very fragile and temperamental.