...what would you have? The DiscreetFX deal below in the news section reminded me of a old machine I used to use (SGI Indy)... What are your thoughts on that computer as your main system? Is there alot of freeware on it (like Aminet?)
I have an SGI Octane R10k (250mhz/SSE) I stole from an eBay auction. It was just that "I always wanted one of these, so why not? It's cheap enough!" kind of purchase....
Since then, I bumped up the RAM, threw an extra Seagate Barracuda drive in it, and managed to snag a full IRIX 6.5.21 install set.
It's really a fun system to tinker with. They don't have the huge repository of binaries like an "Aminet" available, but most Linux programs have an IRIX port, or at least provisions for compiling your own... So things like Open Office, Mozilla, The Gimp, etc, are all available to keep up with modern times.
The base SGI computers are really cheap. Some option boards are still quite expensive, though. The TextureRAM options to enable MXI and MXE graphics are still fairly expensive. (seems to linger around $400 -- more than twice what I paid for my entire system [complete with a beautiful 20" SGI Granite Sony Trinitron monitor!]) And things like the Digital Video option board with breakout box run $1000++. But you don't really need that stuff if you are just tinkering and learning. The bummer of an Octane is, you can't run an IndyCam without at least the Personal Video Option board, which even it runs a couple hundred. (So I have an IndyCam sitting here with nothing to plug it into.)
Anyhow, as for using an SGI as your main system... It's more reasonable than using an Amiga. The apps are much more mainstream and current. The OS is usually fairly stable, so long as you are VERY careful to avoid dependency hell! (And trust me, on IRIX it is a very uncomfortable level of hell!)
Really, the only thing I've found lacking on the SGI side of the fence is support. There's no "Amiga.org" equivalent to go to with questions. SGI themselves don't support or provide updates to people out of service contract. (And service contracts are astronomically expensive.) Even information on hardware and configurations is scarce. You really feel like you're on a "lonely frontier" when things go amiss.
Do I use my SGI as a primary machine? No... Mine is a toy, just like my Amiga has been for the past 4 years, now. But could use it as a primary system, if I had to? Certainly, if pressed, I'd choose my SGI before Windows 3.1, MacOS 8, or OS/2. ;-)
And I would probably choose the SGI over my Amiga, as well, though that would take some heavy thought... I've got a lot more experience with AmigaOS.
PS: Whew!!! That was scary! My session timed out, and I thought this whole post was lost!!! Eeeks!
[edit] -- I didn't answer your question, though... My primary system is a brute of an x86 box I built. It currently dual-boots WinXP and Mandrake 10.
