Can I use an SGI Origin 2000....? at DVinfo.net

Richard J Morris · May 17th, 2005, 02:24 PM

My employer has a "spare" SGI Origin 2000, 12 processor version. I am totally unfamiliar with its operating system and available software, so can anybody tell me if its worth trying to rig it up for video editing? It seems a pity to scrap it without some attempt at using its number crunching capabilities.

Am I wasting my time?

Any suggestions / ideas welcome. Thanks.

Zack Birlew · May 17th, 2005, 09:15 PM

Ummm, by the looks of it, the Origins are meant for other things like server maintenance. I guess if you could get Windows Server 2003 Enterprise on there you could have something. Whether it will run or not, I don't know. But don't junk it for goodness sake! Keep the spare for the sake of having a spare. That's what I do with my computers! =)

Glenn Chan · May 17th, 2005, 10:19 PM

You might want to sell it off if you have no use for it, because computers lose value very fast (about half value every 18/24 months).

There are some high-end video programs that run on SGI, but I know very little about them.
i.e. Discreet Fire and Smoke for editing and finishing, Inferno Flame Flint for effects and compositing. Not sure which runs on SGI (I think they all do).
The latest version of those programs run somewhere around a few hundred thousand.

2- Damn, 12 processors.

Richard J Morris · May 18th, 2005, 06:34 PM

Thanks for the suggestions.

The machine was used for CFD modelling and cost £300,000 7 years ago. Value today = £300 scrap.

I am fairly sure that Windows server will not install - but Glenn's idea for Discreet Fire & Smoke is worth further investigation to see if there is a freebie / cut down / demo version.

Thanks for the help!

Glenn Chan · May 18th, 2005, 07:57 PM

I suppose there's no good games that run on SGI? Retro gaming might make a good use of older computers.

2- Can you run Linux programs on it? Maybe you can turn it into a server of some sort (i.e. web, FTP, file, database) or turn it into a router.
My guess is that won't work... I know very little about SGI.

Zack Birlew · May 18th, 2005, 08:38 PM

Well, how fast is each processor? 12 processors is pretty cool and there is always something an old computer can do, even if it's for playing the original Monkey Island or something ^_^.

Richard J Morris · May 19th, 2005, 06:25 AM

I gather the OS is IRIX which is SGIs 64bit flavour of UNIX
I understand that the processors are the R10k type - which I believe is the number of MFLOPS it can execute. I think the processor clock speed is 300MHz - but unlike on PCs, this is not a good indicator of performance. I don't know how many instructions are executed per clock cycle - and being a totally parallel system it gets even more complicated!
I think it may have 2Gb memory per node (a node is a processor pair), although all processors can address all memory locations.....

Hmmm... I think it will be a big job just to get my head round all this stuff.....

May 17th, 2005, 02:24 PM	#1
Richard J Morris Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hinckley UK Posts: 25	Can I use an SGI Origin 2000....? My employer has a "spare" SGI Origin 2000, 12 processor version. I am totally unfamiliar with its operating system and available software, so can anybody tell me if its worth trying to rig it up for video editing? It seems a pity to scrap it without some attempt at using its number crunching capabilities. Am I wasting my time? Any suggestions / ideas welcome. Thanks. __________________ Richard M

May 17th, 2005, 09:15 PM	#2
Zack Birlew Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 613	Ummm, by the looks of it, the Origins are meant for other things like server maintenance. I guess if you could get Windows Server 2003 Enterprise on there you could have something. Whether it will run or not, I don't know. But don't junk it for goodness sake! Keep the spare for the sake of having a spare. That's what I do with my computers! =) __________________ "Babs Do or Babs Do not, there is no try." - Zack Birlew www.BabsDoProductions.com

May 18th, 2005, 06:34 PM	#4
Richard J Morris Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hinckley UK Posts: 25	Thanks for the suggestions. The machine was used for CFD modelling and cost £300,000 7 years ago. Value today = £300 scrap. I am fairly sure that Windows server will not install - but Glenn's idea for Discreet Fire & Smoke is worth further investigation to see if there is a freebie / cut down / demo version. Thanks for the help! __________________ Richard M

May 18th, 2005, 08:38 PM	#6
Zack Birlew Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 613	Well, how fast is each processor? 12 processors is pretty cool and there is always something an old computer can do, even if it's for playing the original Monkey Island or something ^_^. __________________ "Babs Do or Babs Do not, there is no try." - Zack Birlew www.BabsDoProductions.com

May 19th, 2005, 06:25 AM	#7
Richard J Morris Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hinckley UK Posts: 25	I gather the OS is IRIX which is SGIs 64bit flavour of UNIX I understand that the processors are the R10k type - which I believe is the number of MFLOPS it can execute. I think the processor clock speed is 300MHz - but unlike on PCs, this is not a good indicator of performance. I don't know how many instructions are executed per clock cycle - and being a totally parallel system it gets even more complicated! I think it may have 2Gb memory per node (a node is a processor pair), although all processors can address all memory locations..... Hmmm... I think it will be a big job just to get my head round all this stuff..... __________________ Richard M

May 17th, 2005, 10:19 PM	#3
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	You might want to sell it off if you have no use for it, because computers lose value very fast (about half value every 18/24 months). There are some high-end video programs that run on SGI, but I know very little about them. i.e. Discreet Fire and Smoke for editing and finishing, Inferno Flame Flint for effects and compositing. Not sure which runs on SGI (I think they all do). The latest version of those programs run somewhere around a few hundred thousand. 2- Damn, 12 processors.

May 18th, 2005, 07:57 PM	#5
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	I suppose there's no good games that run on SGI? Retro gaming might make a good use of older computers. 2- Can you run Linux programs on it? Maybe you can turn it into a server of some sort (i.e. web, FTP, file, database) or turn it into a router. My guess is that won't work... I know very little about SGI.