octane to Tezro

[jonhollis_vb]

Hi all
im thinking about upgrading my old Octane 2 (2*600mhz processors-4GB of ram) to a Tezro (just to get 10bit HD in). Anyone got any good stories on how much quicker it is and more stable etc. ive heard the linux route is too expensive as i will have to change my disk array as well. i am still finding hard to deal with how expensive an HD board for SGI costs, expecially when you think about what Decklink has acheived on the mac platform (maybe flame on a mac is next???? – just kidding).

Any pluses and negatives would be good.

thanks,

[BKM]

I work on both a Dual 600 Oct2 and a new Tezro. Although I do see some speed increases, IMPORT/EXPORT… I haven’t work on the box long enough or indepth enough to notice any rocketing speed increases. But just doing some of the basics… it feels the same.

It is faster.. but it’s not alot faster. I don’t think it’s any more/less stable than the Octane2… I have had it crash just a much at times.

Currently I have the bug where you can’t mount the cd/DVD drive within Smoke. So it’s pretty much usless.

I am pleased by the Tezro, but I don’t think it’s the greatest.

Running Smoke 7.0.6.

BKM

[eltopo]

I think you’ll be better swithchig to Linux, porbably the tzero + the hd card investment is not worth it. And about the mac version, who knows?
About the cards check out the AJA Kona 3 http://www.aja.com
Then again you will have to switch to Shake or Nuke

[paul_round]

My worry about getting the Tezro would be future support, as I believe SGI stopped making it at the end of last year due to the Kyoto agreement (same deal as CRT monitors)

[jonhollis_vb]

paul_round wrote:

My worry about getting the Tezro would be future support, as I believe SGI stopped making it at the end of last year due to the Kyoto agreement (same deal as CRT monitors)

Hi paul

i agree sticking with sgi stuff would be a mistake. But how much will it cost to change to linux, bucket loads of cash im sure knowing autodesk.

[loops]

paul_round wrote:

My worry about getting the Tezro would be future support, as I believe SGI stopped making it at the end of last year due to the Kyoto agreement (same deal as CRT monitors)

Where did you hear that? I don’t think that’s the case… SGI are very good about issuing end-of-production notices, usually at least six months in advance, and there’s nothing on their support site to say that. And since their machines from more than ten years ago are still in active support mode I should think there’s life in the old Tezro yet…

Although there is a possibility that the entire company could go bankrupt fairly soon 🙂

[paul_round]

Jon, pricewise I think it’s on a par with the Tezro.
Loops, not sure where I heard it.

[sidewalksurfing]

i’ve heard some weird stuff about tezros being end-of-lifed for some kind of technical reason. maybe its the kyoto thing. someone else mentioned it on the boards here…

[eltopo]

sidewalksurfing wrote:

i’ve heard some weird stuff about tezros being end-of-lifed for some kind of technical reason. maybe its the kyoto thing. someone else mentioned it on the boards here…

They are still being sold, no news regarding end of life.
However it is prettu obvious that the Tzero will be the last IRIX-MIPS workstation.

Also just as breaking news, SGI has a new CEO, wonder what changes will he bring 😕

[loops]

Just to briefly revive this oldish thread… Paul and Sidewalk were kinda right! All the Irix machines will not be available in Europe soon because of the new RoHS rules. Whether it’s allowed to import them from the US I don’t know, hopefully 😮 The email SGI sent out:

Quote:

Special Announcement on SGI®
Products Affected by the RoHS Directive

Availability ends 30 June: MIPS®/IRIX® and Other Products within European Union Certain products that are currently part of the SGI portfolio will not be re-engineered to meet the RoHS regulations. Therefore, with very limited exceptions, these products will no longer be available after 30 June 2006 in the European Union and other countries that have adopted the RoHS directive.

Order by 1 June 2006
To ensure timely delivery of non-RoHS compliant systems, please place your orders with your SGI account rep by 1 June 2006.

To order now, contact us at
+44 (0)8702 432243
or [email protected]

Products Not Transitioning to RoHS-compliant
Most notable of these products are the MIPS/IRIX based systems. In addition, some current Altix products will not be available after 30 June, as they will be replaced by RoHS compliant systems.

Current products include:
SGI® Origin® 3900, SGI® Origin® 350
Silicon Graphics® Tezro®
Silicon Graphics Fuel®
SGI® Altix® 3000 Series
SGI® Altix® 350, SGI® Altix® 330
Silicon Graphics Prism™

Remarketed products include:
SGI® Origin® Servers
Silicon Graphics® Onyx® Systems
Silicon Graphics® Workstations
(Tezro, Fuel, Octane2™, O2™)
SGI Altix 3000 Series
SGI Altix 350
Silicon Graphics Prism

There are end use exemptions for national security/defense, medical and large scale industrial installations. In addition, there are also exemptions for certain upgrades of systems installed before 1 July, 2006. Please contact your SGI account representative to find out more about these exemptions.

[Michaeli]

jonhollis wrote:

paul_round wrote:

My worry about getting the Tezro would be future support, as I believe SGI stopped making it at the end of last year due to the Kyoto agreement (same deal as CRT monitors)

Hi paul

i agree sticking with sgi stuff would be a mistake. But how much will it cost to change to linux, bucket loads of cash im sure knowing autodesk.

I’ve never quite understood why the costs aren’t more readily available. I asked the same question on Flame news a while back and never got a direct answer. Does anyone know how much a flame costs whether it be on Tezro or Linux – I’d love to know.

Whenever I ask someone how much it would be to upgrade I’m usually greeted with a wince but I have a feeling that a wince today is nowhere near the cost of a wince 5 years ago.

[higginba_vb]

I would check out linux rather than SGI at this point.

The reason no one will tell you how much a flame costs is that everyone gets different deals and folks are afraid to damage their good graces with autodesk. Just call up their sales department…someone there will be happy to take your call, I’m sure. There would likely be a hardware cost in upgrading from octane to linux, and if you are not on 9.5 you would likely have to pay for a software upgrade as well.

[Michaeli]

higginba wrote:

The reason no one will tell you how much a flame costs is that everyone gets different deals and folks are afraid to damage their good graces with autodesk. Just call up their sales department…

cheers – erm – who should I say I am if you catch my drift?

Does anyone have a ball park figure for a Flint, Flame or Inferno. I’m curious as it’s something I’ve never really known..

[Anonymous]

Do you guys know if Autodesk/Discreet will charge for an upgrade in case you transfer a Flame 9 license from Oct2 to Tezro?

The array on the Oct2 is the 2Gb Fibre Channel which could be used on the Tezro as well…

Rgds,

Francisco

[Author]

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