Indy Model Summary

Silicon Graphics FAQs

Silicon Graphics SGI Indy

Until the introduction of the O2, the Indy was SGI’s entry level workstation. It has an impressive range of features and ports, and remains a versatile machine.

CPU options
CPU type Speed (mhz) Secondary cache size
R4000PC 100
R4000SC 100 1MB
R4600PC 100
R4600PC 133
R4600SC 133 0.5MB
R4400SC 100 1MB
R4400SC 150 1MB
R4400SC 175 1MB
R4400SC 200 1MB
R5000PC 150
R5000SC 150 0.5MB
R5000SC 180 0.5MB

PC on a CPU module means Primary Cache (ie. only on-die cache). SC means Secondary Cache (ie. L2 cache on the module).

RAM:

The Indy has 8 slots, taking 72pin parity RAM. 4 SIMMS per bank, 2 banks total, giving a maximum of 265mb.
Memory can be either 4mb, 8mb, 16mb or 32mb, and must be the same size and speed within a bank.

Graphics:

Indy’s come with 3 main graphics options – 8bit XL, 24bit XL, and the XZ. The XL cards have decent 2D performance, but everything else is offloaded to the CPU. The XZ has some 3D acceleration (hardware Z buffer, geometry/lighting acceleration). However, it seems to be slower than the XL cards for 2D work.

Ports:

Lots of connectivity comes with the Indy as standard:

  • ISDN BRI port

  • PS/2 keyboard and mouse

  • 10-BaseT or AUI ethernet

  • External fast SCSI

  • S-Video in

  • Digital video in

  • IndyCAM

  • Sound (headphones, microphone, line-in, etc.)

  • Bi-directional printer port

  • 2 Mac-compatible serial ports

Drives:

The Indy has 2 internal 3.5 inch drive bays. These can either take the Floptical drive (SCSI drive that reads/writes normal floppies, and special 21mb ‘floptical’ disks) or normal hard drives.
If you want a CD or DAT drive, these can be connected via the external SCSI port – it is one SCSI channel though (unlike some other machines).

The internal SCSI connecters are 5mb/s SCSI-1. The cables for the hard drives are standard 50pin SCSI connectors. As SCSI as backwards compatible, any non-HVD drive will work. If the drive doesn’t have a 50pin connector, you will need to buy and install a converter.

Several people have reported success using IDE->SCSI converters, and installing IDE drives in their Indys.

More information:

Owner’s Guide

The Indy Owner’s Guide can be found on Techpubs.

A local copy can be downloaded from here. PDF icon

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