SGI indigo

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SGI Indigo - front
SGI Indigo - back with connections

The Indigo is a workstation for creating moving images with three-dimensional effects . It was marketed as IRIS Indigo in 1991 by Silicon Graphics , Inc. ( SGI ).

The Indigo was a pioneer in the field of 3D graphics , as it made it possible for the first time to generate animation effects with the resolution required for movies outside of mainframes. Many famous movies like Jurassic Park have been machine rendered .

The workstation also became known for its design. Its case was indigo in the color that gave it its name .

Further components could be built into the workstation and connected via the GIO 32 bus.

The Indigo was replaced by the SGI Indigo2 (and in the low-cost market by the SGI Indy ). Nevertheless, the SGI Indigo remained in use in some special applications until after 2000.

Hardware and system start

The workstation obtained the graphics performance from its hardware-accelerated graphics chip . This graphics chip was available as a 2D (two-dimensional) frame buffer or as a 3D version.

SGI Indigo - motherboard

Both the motherboard and the graphics board can be installed and removed without loosening screws.

As usual for SGI machines, the system start is carried out by a powerful firmware. The firmware has its own graphic interface and can be operated using the mouse. To boot this firmware performs a self-test.

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