For a time, SGI was an industry leader in graphical design and computer-aided design (CAD) workstations, but this performance came at a very high cost. Many workstation configuration prices reached into the six-figure range.

Introduced in 1993, the SGI Indy, code-named "Guinness", was SGI’s attempt at garnering a share in the low-end CAD market, dominated by Apple. Like many other offerings from SGI, the price of the Indy was completely based on customer configuration, but the Indy was a low-end option with a budget configuration of around of around $5,000 (USD).

Contained in a small form factor, the Indy belongs to the group of colourful and iconic workstations meant to fit underneath a monitor. In an era ruled by beige, the Bondi Blue "pizza box” case of the Indy was definitely striking. Indys could be found in various configurations depending on customer needs and the specific year of production, with the Challenge S being the server version. The SGI Indy ran from July 1993 to June 1997, from the R4000 to the R5000 models.

Dimensions  41 cm × 36 cm × 8 cm

Operating System  IRIX 6.2 IRIX 6.5.22

Processor  R4000, R4400, R4600 or R5000
Frequency  100 MHz, 133 MHz, 150 MHz, 175 MHz, 180 MHz, or 200 MHz
Memory  16 or 32 MB - Upgradeable to  a maximum configuration: 256 MB  via 8 * 32 MB SIMMs

Graphics  Newport Graphics (XL/XGE) or Express Graphics (XZ)

Connectors (Indy workstation):

Multimedia:
5 stereo 1/8" phone jacks, for headphone, microphone, speakers, etc.
1 composite video input
SVideo 4 pin Mini-DIN
60 pin Indycam connector
Networking:
15 pin AUI network connector
RJ45 ISDN connector
RJ45 10BaseT network connector
Input/Output:
2 Mini-DIN 6 pin PS/2 compatible mouse and keyboard ports
2 Mini-DIN 8 pin Mac compatible serial ports
50 pin SCSI-2 connector
DB25 female bidirectional parallel port
 

Connectors (Challenge S server):

Networking:
15 pin AUI network connector (primary interface)
RJ45 10BaseT network connector (secondary interface, IOPLUS)
RJ45 ISDN connector
Input/Output:
2 Mini-DIN 8 pin Mac compatible serial ports
50 pin SCSI-2 connector
68 pin SCSI-2 connector (IOPLUS)
68 pin SCSI-2 connector (IOPLUS)
DB25 female bidirectional parallel port

Workstation Owner’s Guides

Indy

http://www.sgistuff.net/hardware/systems/documents/007-9804-060-indy.pdf

Challenge S Server

http://www.sgistuff.net/hardware/systems/documents/007-2314-005-challenges.pdf

Manufacturer: SGI
Date: 12th July 1993

This exhibit has a reference ID of CH11261. Please quote this reference ID in any communication with the Centre for Computing History.