SGI Onyx is a series of visualization systems designed and manufactured by

SGI SGI may refer to: Companies *Saskatchewan Government Insurance *Scientific Games International, a gambling company *Silicon Graphics, Inc., a former manufacturer of high-performance computing products *Silicon Graphics International, formerly Rac ...

, introduced in 1993 and offered in two models, deskside and rackmount, codenamed Eveready and Terminator respectively. The Onyx's basic system architecture is based on the SGI Challenge servers, but with graphics hardware. The Onyx was employed in early 1995 for

development kits A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific to ...

used to produce software for the Nintendo 64 and, because the technology was so new, the Onyx was noted as the major factor for the impressively high price of – for such kits. The Onyx was succeeded by the Onyx2 in 1996 and was discontinued on March 31, 1999.

CPU

The deskside variant can accept one

CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and ...

board, and the rackmount variant can take up to six CPU boards. Both models were launched with the IP19 CPU board with one, two, or four MIPS R4400 CPUs, initially with 100 and 150 MHz options and later increased to 200 and 250 MHz. Later, the IP21 CPU board was introduced, with one or two R8000 microprocessors at 75 or 90 MHz; machines with this board were referred to as POWER Onyx. Finally, SGI introduced the IP25 board with one, two, or four R10000 CPUs at 195 MHz.

Graphics

The Onyx was launched with the RealityEngine2 or VTX graphics subsystems, and InfiniteReality was introduced in 1995.

RealityEngine2

The RealityEngine2 is the original high-end graphics subsystem for the Onyx and was found in two different versions: deskside and rack. The deskside model has one GE10 (Geometry Engine) board with 12 Intel i860XP processors, up to four RM4 or RM5 (Raster Manager) boards, and a DG2 (Display Generator) board. The rack model differs by supporting up to three RealityEngine2 pipes (display outputs) vs the single pipe of the deskside.

VTX

The VTX graphics subsystem is a cost reduced version of the RealityEngine2, using the same hardware but in a feature reduced configuration that can not be upgraded. It consists of one GE10 board (6 Intel i860XP processors vs 12 in RE2), a single RM4 or RM5 board, and a DG2 board.

InfiniteReality

InfiniteReality InfiniteReality refers to a 3D graphics hardware architecture and a family of graphics systems that implemented the aforementioned hardware architecture that was developed and manufactured by Silicon Graphics from 1996 to 2005. The InfiniteRealit ...

succeeded RealityEngine2 as the high-end graphics subsystem for the Onyx when introduced in 1996. As with RealityEngine2, two versions correspond to the form factors of the Onyx. The deskside version consists of a GE12 board, one or two RM6 boards (limited due to the amount of cooling the deskside system provides), and a DG4 board. The rack model increases the number of RM6 boards supported to four per pipe and allows up to three pipes to be installed resulting in an Onyx rack with a maximum of three GE12 boards, three DG4 boards, and twelve RM6 boards.

CPU

Graphics

RealityEngine2

VTX

InfiniteReality

References

Further reading