SGI Cases

[hjc1710]

Alright, so we stumble upon old SGI Boards every now and then. Some nice Alps and some old rubber domes. They inspire our sets and what not.

So, my question to you all is: Have you ever seen any old SGI cases in the wild? Like an Indigo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SGI_Indigo) or an Iris (http://hardware.majix.org/computers/sgi.iris/images/iris3010.06.big.jpg)?

Basically, I'm highly interested in buying one of these old cases and, possibly, converting it to a modern ATX case (if I can't do that, I'd still gladly buy one to have as a collector's item). So Geekhack, got any leads or ideas for me?

<3

EDIT: Ebay doesn't want to respond to me, so if it's as simple as an Ebay search, I will accept my humiliation.

[Halverson]

Someone here bought one in the last year or two. I looked for myself and didn't find much.

Good luck! They are beautiful big things!

[Michael]

I always wanted to convert an SGI Octane case to put modern components in. They were so well designed from an aesthetic perspective

[Findecanor]

I have got an empty case from an Indigo² standing on my desk, next to the PC that I use.
I have been planning to build a powerful graphics PC inside it, but the problem is that it is a "pizza-box" case that is only about four inches (10 cm) thick inside, so using modern coolers is difficult. There aren't many good fans that would fit, and I do absolutely not want to cut new openings. I have been planning to modify a watercooling radiator to fit.

An Indigo or Octane case would be easier to convert as they are more cuboid. I have seen PC-conversions of those, of O2s and of Indys on the web, but the Indys have been mostly low-power mini-ITX systems.
But please do only do that if you get hold of an incomplete system that does not work, and do sell off the extra bits that you don't need. There are vintage computer collectors who really like these machines, and throwing away components would to them be like throwing away a nice vintage keyboard is to us.
My machine would be built as a tribute to že olde SGI - that is why I want to put a nice graphics card inside it.

Another idea I have played with is to rebuild only the exterior of a boxy PC case such as the Corsair Air 540 or 240 into looking like a miniature version of a first-gen Onyx.

There are a few other people on this board and on Deskthority that have SGI's. I have seen that 7bit has an Indy on his desk, but I don't know if he uses it, has it converted or uses it only as a monitor stand.
A few guys in UK and Ireland got together to buy a bunch of O2s a year or two ago.

[hjc1710]

But please do only do that if you get hold of an incomplete system that does not work, and do sell off the extra bits that you don't need. There are vintage computer collectors who really like these machines, and throwing away components would to them be like throwing away a nice vintage keyboard is to us.

Oh, I would never dream of doing that! There's a reason the title is "SGI Cases" and not "SGI Machines". I wouldn't dream of converting a working SGI machine into a carcass for a modern machine. That's ****ed up. But, if you have extra carcasses, I'll happily try a conversion .

My machine would be built as a tribute to že olde SGI - that is why I want to put a nice graphics card inside it.

Same here, it would be a video rendering hog. Probably 24-32 cores, etc. Hence why I would love the case for it . Would be bad as ****.

Thanks for the info! I might poke around DT or finally get my ass around to making a classifieds thread and listing it there in some longshot hope. I figured this wasn't a very probable thing, but was worth a shot.

I'd love to see a shot of your Indigio² though!