Just read a really old review on the SGI Visual Workstation 320. I think it's kind of cool when it first came out. It has integrated video, audio, firewire,etc. It an animators dream machine. Has anyone used it? What do you think about this machine? Are there any old machines still lying around for sale?
ThankYou
AL
Memory is amazingly overpriced due to its proprietary nature
Memory access is a dog, surprisingly enough.
64-bit PCI slots that don't allow you to use 32-bit cards.
Bog on SpecView compared to even cheap Geforce cards.
outdated , unexpandable, and not unless its almost free should you touch it.
.............
I have a 320. I have had it for about a year. I really like it. Memory is not very hard to find or very expensive any more. It has a SGI direct ram to video graphics, so in animation setting it uses 48MB RAM to graphics. You can not put another graphics card in the machine. These machines are 3 years old but still very fast. Of course there are faster machines now, as there should be. But they are still a good value. There are several of these machines around new in warehouses. I bought a new one after they had been discountued for very cheap. You can find them on ebay but they seem to retain their value because they are still fetching 2,000 to 3,000 on ebay. I paid less than that for a new one.
You also can only upgrade the processor to I believe 800mhz.
For an older machine this machine still works surprisingly well for highend 3d applications like maya.
Thank you for the replies. How is the AV function(Video Capture and Output to tape quality) on the SGI Visual Workstation 320? Is it compatible with Softimage3D/XSI v1.5? How much did you buy for? Do you know where I can found one other than Ebay?
ThankYou
AL
It is compatible with softimage. The video is rca and s-video. As with most systems in order to do video work you will need a raid. Medea is cheap and compatible. I believe the video I/O is uncompressed or compressed. It does have firewire but I do not think it can be used to capture video.
I bought mine from an sgi reseller. You should be able to get one for 2,000 to 3,000 with monitor. I paid almost 3,000 with 21" monitor.
If you are looking for a newer machine on the remanufactured sectioon of the sgi website they have the newer 230,330 and 530's from about $1,100. These are your standard issue pc, no special sgi graphics just nvidia cards.
I have an SGI 320, I like the use as far as animation is concerned, I am using Maya 3. Unfortunately the firewire is no good, and I am having a hell of a time getting a PCI 3.3 volt firewire card to use instead. The RAM is expensive, but the computer runs solid.
FYI - I tried to capture video last week, (1st time) and the computer dropped more frames than it picked up, so make sure you look into that before you buy one, if you are going to need that function.
MA
Thank You very much for all the replies. I think I'll pass. The price tag of the SGI 320 system is out of my budget. I'll buy a super system when I have the money. Thanks Again for all the people who helped.
Thanks Again
AL
just fyi: sgi is selling refurbed 230s on ebay dirctly for $600-$860. They looked like the auction is over today.
your 320 dropped frames because you don't have enough disk bandwidth.
The output is uncompressed video, which will require about 30MB/s harddrive throughput. You'll need to stripe at least two (identical) drives together using the disk administration tools in Windows NT *( you can change the color sampling settings in the control panel to YUV to get the datarate down a bit).
it should work fine after that - with fantastic image qulity.
**This was a well-built (if quirky) workstation, but prob. not a great value in todays workstaion market.
kiwi