Silicon Graphics Introduces New RISC Personal Computer

IRIS Indigo Features 3D Graphics, Audio, Video and ACE Compatibility for Less than $10,000

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (July 22, 1991) - Silicon Graphics (NYSE:SGI) today announced IRIS Indigo(tm), the first high-performance, color RISC personal computer. IRIS Indigo is the only system to deliver three-dimensional graphics, DAT-quality audio, video and Advanced Computing Environment (ACE) compatibility for under $10,000. With IRIS Indigo, professional users can take advantage of powerful technology previously confined to high-end computing systems.

"The PC and workstation worlds are converging. Out of this fusion a new type of product will emerge -- the RISC personal computer. Today, Silicon Graphics introduces the first product of this type," said Edward R. McCracken, president and CEO of Silicon Graphics, Inc. "In traditional SGI spirit, IRIS Indigo pushes the limits of state-of-the-art technology, bringing together sight, sound and performance on the professional's desktop."

RISC personal computers blend the compute performance and powerful graphics of workstations with the standards-based, user-friendly capabilities of traditional PCs.

The IRIS Indigo system is the foundation of Silicon Graphics' new computing strategy that makes visualization technology accessible to a broad range of users. Maintaining binary compatibility with the entire IRIS 4D(tm) product family, the system runs close to 1,500 vertical and productivity software packages for the technical, scientific and creative professional. It also supports software and networking standards for easy integration into existing computing environments. The IRIS Indigo system is compatible with the ACE initiative's hardware specifications (also known as Advanced Risc Computer, or ARC) and will be capable of running future ACE application software.

"Compaq endorses IRIS Indigo as a key early development platform for ACE," said Gary Stimac, senior vice president, Systems Engineering, Compaq Computer Corporation. In accordance with the ACE initiative, the system incorporates the MIPS(R) R3000A(tm) processor, a 101-key PC keyboard, 8-bit graphics, 16-bit audio, Ethernet, SCSI, serial and parallel ports and little-endian byte ordering. IRIS Indigo also supports big-endian byte ordering.

The IRIS Indigo computer provides features not found in any other system in this price range. The system offers dynamic 2D and 3D graphics capabilities, texture mapping and alpha blending. Due to a breakthrough architecture that enables a much lower price, IRIS Indigo offers the full power of the IRIS Graphics Library(tm) (GL(tm)) application programmer's interface to a broad set of users and application developers.

In addition to leading-edge graphics, IRIS Indigo delivers real-time audio and video capabilities on the desktop. The system ships with a microphone, has built-in DAT-quality audio, and will offer optional low-cost video.

"IRIS Indigo's audio and video capabilities let software developers add new dimensions and create richer, more intuitive solutions," said Michael Ramsay, general manager and vice president of Silicon Graphic's Entry Systems Division. "The explosion of new, exciting applications will give end users innovative tools for understanding and communicating information."

IRIS Indigo features a fast balanced 33Mhz R3000A RISC CPU, delivering 30 MIPS and 26 SPECmarks. The system can be expanded by adding real-time color video cards, memory, I/O and storage devices. It has five audio, one parallel, one SCSI II, one Ethernet and two serial connections as well as a GIO Bus for additional expansion. The IRIS Indigo computer can be expanded up to 1.3 GB of disk space and up to 96 MB of RAM.

Application Software

IRIS Indigo runs a rich set of software applications, delivering solutions to users in the following markets:

Animation Audio/Visual Authoring