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StarCaine
Registered User
(1/25/02 10:06:33 pm)
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Finally!!! Info on my N64 Development System (by SGI)...PIX!
Got my Nintendo 64 (Ultra 64) Development board w/ System from my friend last Saturday, haven't had time since to post additional pix, additional information, etc. 
Here's how the System looks from the back (friend's pic):
Here's how it looks from the "inside" (my pic!! Yay!!):
This is when I connected the Nintendo A/V adaptor (my pic, again!!!):
Finally, a little system-info:
Notice: the dates on the pics are off by exactly one year; going to have to reset my digital camera's date. 
I do not currently own a compatible monitor, nor do I have a VGA to Silicon Graphic's Computer monitor so I can't really show anything "within" the system's memory itself; however, I have gathered these specs from my friend:
System Hardware Specs/MISC:
*******************
-Indy R4400 200mhz
-64 mb ram
-ULTRA 64 Development board
-Indy 24-bit
-A2 Audio processor
-SCSI Hard drive 2.17 GB
-Vino Video
-Irix 6.2 OS
-Keyboard
-Mouse
-Indycam video camera
Ports on Back/MISC:
****************
-3D glasses
-monitor
-headphones
-mic
-3 speaker ports
-video
-s-video
-indycam
-telephone
-network
-keyboard
-mouse
-aux 1
-aux 2
-scsi
-1 6-port connector on the Ultra 64 board
-3 ports I'm not sure about
Here's also some other information my friend included in his e-mails to me concerning a little "brief" history:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> I thought you might like to know the history of the machine since
> you are a collector. It was used for the production of one of the
> top selling games for the N64, Turok from Iguana (now Acclaim
> Studios Austin). It was also used for the sequels, Turok II and III.
>
> I currently am working on the jungle levels for the next Turok which
> will be released on the Xbox, Gamecube and PS2 this summer.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
On a second e-mail, my friend also gave me a little info about the board:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >From what I understand, the Ultra 64 Development board is extremely
> rare and SGI made very few and were extremely expensive and only
> sold them to select developers. (some 3rd party developers were turned
down
> by Nintendo) The $ numbers I heard were rediculously high so I won't
> even repeat them in case they are wrong. It sounds like you are a real
> nice and respectable person and I would like for it to go to someone who
> appreciates it. I'm just going to need payment sooner than that.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Well, that's all the information I'll post up for now. Until I can get an SGI Monitor, this'll just hafta do. 
Regards,
StarCaine K2
Smile!
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deviance
Unregistered User
(1/25/02 11:39:12 pm)
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Stupid-ass subject line...
I once bought a 13W3 to VGA adapter to use this 21" SGI monitor I got for cheap with my PC. I'd suggest you do the same instead of buy another monitor, they make SGI-male to VGA-female adapters and you can typically get them for like 30 bux from somewhere like this.
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mf5000
Registered User
(1/26/02 12:58:37 pm)
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The Price
The rumour at the time was that the price was $250,000.
I think the PSX dev kit only cost around $12,000 at the time.
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StarCaine
Registered User
(1/27/02 12:39:22 am)
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Re: The Price
Yes, that would be a great option to do, too, deviance. I even thought about it, but the only other monitor in this house is an old Acer 12" monitor (or 13"?) with a very low resolution!!! Of course, I can use the monitor in the office/study (15" VGA, by Future Power), but then we'd have to keep switching back and forth the main computer and the SGI.
That is a good solution, though, and I probably might go for it, being that I REALLY want to see what's it like to see what an old N64 Developer saw in his days of developer when he to work, slumped in his chair, and booted up the beauty that was the Indy; the days that are gone for now.
$250,000!!!!!! Ack!!!!! Whoa, mama!!! If only it was worth that much today, I wished! Or even, at least, half that much. Bury me a dead, but happy, man.
Regards,
StarCaine K2
Smile!
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ASSEMblergames
ezOP
(1/27/02 1:48:11 am)
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oo
You mind if I use those pics? love to put em up.
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Johnny
Registered User
(1/27/02 1:50:29 am)
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Re: oo
Hey StarCaine show some more pics of this beauty
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guest
Unregistered User
(1/27/02 6:44:55 am)
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The price
I somehow doubt that figure of $250.000 for this kit. It certainly is more than $12.000 (the Indy alone would have costed more than that), but never $250.000.
Your figure of $250.000 is probably for an Onyx which was used to simulate the N64:
"The team used customised Silicon Graphics Onyx and Indy computers to emulate the N64"
www.gamesradar.com/featur...508_1.html
They probably had to use these before there was final silicon for the Indy development board. An Onyx is so powerfull, you can do pretty much anything with it you want, certainly emulating the N64 without special hardware. The price also matches $250.000.
www.futuretech.vuurwerk.nl/onyxgs.html
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mf5000
Registered User
(1/27/02 9:06:59 am)
Reply
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Re: The Price
Yeah that makes sense.It was around April 95' I heard that rumour and the proper dev kits did'nt start shipping until around July of that year.
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mf5000
Registered User
(1/27/02 9:09:39 am)
Reply
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Re: The Price
so that price of $250,000 must have been the Onyx microcode emulation kit they used for early dev.
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StarCaine
Registered User
(1/27/02 12:29:32 pm)
Reply
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Re: The Price
Sure, ASSEMbler. Knock yourself out. Might have more pics out later on.
Alright, Johnny. Maybe, I can give you a little "tour" of the software inside, when I get an adaptor. I do have more pics available, but nothing worth looking at, at the time. It's basically a common SGI Indy with an SGI Ultra 64 board. Of course, I can take pics of the Keyboard, mouse, and Indy-Cam it shipped with, if you're interested in admiring some of this American beauty.
An Onyx, aye? Well, you've got to admit, this SGI hardware sure is pretty impressive, guest. I wouldn't mind buying somemore, maybe even building up this Indy I have with me.
And Early Dev? You mean there was an earlier dev?
Regards,
StarCaine K2
Smile!
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StarCaine
Registered User
(1/28/02 3:22:35 am)
Reply
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Re: The Price
I guess I can take the Dev board apart from the system and snag a couple of shots of the board itself, front and back with size perspective as well, showing you how small the board actually is in comparison to everyday objects.
Regards,
StarCaine K2
Smile!
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PrOfUnD Darkness
Unregistered User
(1/28/02 2:41:30 pm)
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Hum
Nice machine!! Do you really get it for free??
PD
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guest
Unregistered User
(1/28/02 3:37:04 pm)
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Re: The Price
>An Onyx, aye? Well, you've got to admit, this SGI >hardware sure is pretty impressive, guest. I wouldn't >mind buying somemore, maybe even building up this >Indy I have with me.
Building up your Indy isn't going to get you far, both expansion slots are blocked by the N64 developer board . You can max out the ram to 256Mb (make sure that you have 128 Mb or more, although 64 will do with Irix 5.3). And get something like a 9Gb scsi disk. Oh, and you already knew that: Make backups! And check that they actually work.
>And Early Dev? You mean there was an earlier dev?
I'm assuming that before they made any N64 hardware, some testing of the N64 architecture was done at SGI on then current platforms. That's what I thought they used those Onyxes for, you could probably emulate a N64 at full speed without extra hardware on an Onyx (OK, you'd have to pop in a vigra soundcard at about $2500 . They still emulate future new microprocessors with older generation machines to get an idea how they will behave and to write software.
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StarCaine
Registered User
(1/29/02 2:09:02 am)
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Re: The Price
Yes, PD! Truly a nice and very cherished system. Thank you for the compliments. However, if you think I got it for free, I'm sorry to inform that I only wished that.
I spent QUITE a bit of money for it which has only turned me for the worst. It is only an alternative that I do something fast, either get rid of my other investments, or else, get that Voodoo 5 6K for in case my finance gets out of hand (which is the reason I've been negotiating about that). However, I'll try to get more info on and about it, but it might take me a while.
Thanks again.
Hey, guest....... enjoy your stay at the Hotel de ASSEMbleria.
Just kidding!
Oh well. I suppose it's a pretty average-speed computer for 200MegsH, aye? Can I run Windows-games, like Quake III Tournament on it, at least? Oh! There's no CD-Drive! Nevermind. :-(
Cool.....I mean......... cruel.
I have no doubt on your statement that there's an earlier dev version of this. On the board, it does say REV 2.0, so there MUST be another one out there that I still must complete my search. My Reconquista.
Thanks for the info and I'll try to spill more on this NDev later on, time permitting.
Regards,
StarCaine K2
Smile!
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