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The IRIS Indigo is a graphical UNIX workstation introduced in 1991 by SGI, and was one of the most powerful 3D machines on the market at the time. It was intended as a smaller desktop workstation replacement for the larger, heavier 4D series of workstations. The Indigo was known by the codename BlackJack while in development, and its original SGI model number wa s CMNB003. When it was introduced, SGI marketing created several working espressso machines that looked just like an Indigo called t he Espressogo.
The Indigo gets its name from the dark blue color of its case and IRIS stands for "Integrated Raster Imaging System". It is 15" high, 9.5" wide, 10.9" deep, and weighs 25 lbs. On the front right is a door that hides the drive bays, a lock bar, and a reset button. The lock bar is a steel bar that goes through the entire system, and accepts a padlock to prevent anyone from opening the system. The back of the Indigo has power, SCSI, keyboard, serial, audio, video, genlock, ethernet, and parallel connectors, and a ventilation opening near the power supply.
The first Indigo has a 32-bit, 33Mhz MIPS R3000 RISC CPU with SGI 64-pin proprietary memory, keyboard, and mouse, and is cap able of addressing up to 96MB of memory. Notably, it is unable to use more than one bank of 4MB memory modules. The R3000 Indigo shipped with three graphics configurations: LG1 (aka, entry), XS, and XS-24. The last version of IRIX to run on the R3k Indigo was IRIX 5.3 w/XFS. SGI also produced Indigos for other companies, such as Colorbus Corp. These Indigos were standard stock, with custom company logos on the door. The HINV IP identifier for R3k CPUs is IP12.
In early 1992 SGI introduced the 64-bit, 100Mhz MIPS R4000 RISC Indigo. The R4000 uses standard 72-pin parity SIMMS for memory and addresses up to 384MB of memory. The R4000 shipp ed with five different graphics configurations: LG1, XS, XS-24, XZ, and ELAN. The R4000 Indigo is capable of running the latest versions of IRIX. The R4000 Indigo is also upgradeable to a R4400 150Mhz CPU found in older Indigo 2s. The R4000 is clock multiplied at 50Mhz, and the R4400 at 75Mhz. The HINV IP identifier for R4k CPUs is IP20.
The entry-level graphics are 8-bit, do not include any geometry engines, and are on the bottom of the performance scale. The entry board has two video connectors on it, an HD15 and a 13W3, and video output is locked a t 1024x768. SGI produced two entry-level graphics boards, the LG1 and the LG2. The only difference is the LG2 board is pale green with the "Song and Dance Machine" logo silk screened on it. XS, XS-24, and XZ graphics are the next option after entry-level graphic s and are in the mid-level price/performance range. XS is 8-bit color with one geometry engine (GE). The XS-24 is identical to the X S, but includes a Z-buffer, and is capable of 24-bit color. For increased 3D performance, SGI introduced the XZ, which is identical to the XS-24 but includes a second GE. The ELAN graphics option is the best for the Indigo -- it is the same as the XS-24, but with four GEs. Most Indigo R3k machines were marked with a graphics level logo on the door, and R4k Indigos had a graphics badge to identify which graphics option they had.
Key Indigo Dates:
- 1991, July: Indigo systems with R3000 processor announced. Read the official press release from 1991. indigo-announce.txt
- 1992, January: XS and XS24 graphics options announced to ship in March, Elan to *ship in April
- 1992, September: Indigo R4000 shipment announced for September 1992
- 1993, January: XZ graphics options announced to ship in January
Here is the Indigo Release Announcement: indigo-announce.txt
