SGI R10000 *CPU*- what systems can it go in and what's it worth?

[SynthesisI]

I work at an ISP and have recently been put in charge of asset liquidation to get a bunch of older equipment and software out of the closets and out the door for a few bucks if possible (eBay is my best friend). So we uncover this old SGI R10000 graphics card, which I know squat-o about, and we're wondering how much it's worth. The execs here say it was worth ten grand new back in the day and wanted something similar to that price right now (they don't seem to understand I.T. product depreciation at times). I'm thinking 50 bucks. They're thinking 5,000 bucks. Is the R10000 cross-platform compatible? Can it go from an O2 box to an Indigo 2 box? Just wanted these questions answered, and any information you can give me on this unit. TIA!

EDIT: I now understand that this is a CPU. Gotcha.

 

[Harabecw]

Isn't that a processor? That's what I can gather from browsing around a bit.
I can't seem to find any info (like perhaps a review) on what it actually is, in layman's terms... anyone know where to start?

 

[Cheval]

The R10000 is a model of CPU from a company called MIPS that are in Silicon Graphics (SGI) computers. Various models of computers from SGI had them: O2, Indigo2, Octane, etc, each having different models of graphics cards. Various modifications of the R10000 have followed: R12000, R14000, etc, at various clock speeds. For instance, my Octane has a 250MHz R10000 with 2MB level 2 cache.

 

[Harabecw]

what do you use the Octane for?
I get the feeling the low speed might be deceiving for what it can do.

 

[SynthesisI]

No kidding... I guess my boss was just amiss when he said it was a video card. So, it's a CPU. Well I'll check it out on Monday- I didn't actually see the thing; my boss just told me what was in 'that box'.

 

[CTho9305]

A quick way to check prices

 

[SynthesisI]

Saw that exact same page under the same search earlier this morning. Didn't pay much attention to those 2 auction details since my boss was talking to me and I was exhausted. But no chips for sale themselves. Perhaps the box really just has an Indigo 2 in that big box or something... who knows. I'll investigate Monday.

 

[sgtroyer]

There's an O2 on ebay with an R10000 that sold for $325, so that gives you an idea of the price range you're gonna get for just the CPU. Certainly not $5000, but maybe $50. SGI has some info on the O2 on their website at http://sgi.com/products/remarketed/o2/

They seem to sell some old recertified workstations, too. You might be able to find something out there.

I poked around the MIPS website, but found nothing.

 

[SynthesisI]

Good deal- thank you and everyone else for your help! More is certainly welcomed.

 

[Wintermute76]

I"ve got a pair of Indigo2 R10000 Impact systems, 175 and 195 MHz. Haven't really found a use for them. I wanted to run Linux, but that seems a bit difficult to implement (not a lot of support for Linux/MIPS on the R10000). I was also going to gut the case and put my PC into it, but they're too dissimilar.

Anyways, here is a site that has some good information about the various SGI systems here

 

[SynthesisI]

Sweet, thanks for the link! Yeah, putting a PC into one of their cases would be cool if it was possible without a torch and Dremel.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: SynthesisI
Sweet, thanks for the link! Yeah, putting a PC into one of their cases would be cool if it was possible without a torch and Dremel.

I've thought about how cool it would be to put a PC in an O2 case at times, but I doubt a full-size motherboard would even fit. And then you have the issue of the PCI slots (which are placed different, IIRC, on Octanes than they are on PCs).

FWIW, there is a version of Windows NT 4 that is compatible with some older MIPS-based systems. How well it works, or how compatible it is, I have no idea.