Onyx is a no-compromise machine; a new realm of computing that is the culmination of breakthroughs in CPU, bus and graphics system design.
For compute performance, Onyx uses up to twenty four 150MHz MIPS
R4400 processors in a single enclosure to provide the industry's
fastest graphics and compute platform. Because Onyx features a
1.2GB/second system bus, linear scaling of performance and throughput
is available throughout the product line. The I/O bus supports HiPPI,
ethernet, FDDI, fast/wide SCSI 2, VME64 and RAID, as well as multiple
graphics pipelines. Onyx rack enclosures are capable of multiple
320MB/second I/O sub-systems, while the deskside systems support one
I/O bus.
Onyx systems are available with either VTX or RealityEngine2 graphics
subsystems - the world's fastest graphics. RealityEngine2 is an
enhanced version of the industry-leading RealityEngine graphics
subsystem. Featuring performance of up to 2 million t-mesh polygons
and 320M textured, anti-aliased pixels a second, RealityEngine2
provides graphics velocity and quality beyond any other graphics
system available today. Real-time multi-sample anti-aliasing,
advanced stereo capabilities, 96-bit color, volume rendering and
32-bit Z-buffer are just a few of the many features shared by both
the VTX and RealityEngine2 graphics subsystems.
Every Onyx graphics supercomputer offers a flexible frame-buffer
architecture that allows for software-selection of display
resolutions and even multiple outputs from a single RealityEngine2 or
VTX graphics pipeline. When used with the Multi Channel Option
RealityEngine2-equipped systems can support dual high-resolution
screens, or up to six 640 x 480 outputs. Both graphics subsystems
support resolutions from VGA up to 1280 x 1024 timings, while
RealityEngine2 subsystems (with the optional Raster Manager board)
are capable of 1600 x 1200, 1920 x 1035, 1920 x 1152 and other high
resolution formats. Onyx systems include composite video output and
genlock, so an area of interest from the high resolution monitor can
be output to a standard NTSC or PAL VCR.
Onyx systems offer parallel processing of ImageVision Library routines in the graphics pipeline. This hardware acceleration of ImageVision Library functions greatly speeds many operations, including warps, convolves, continuous zoom and rotations. The result is a multi-purpose graphics platform that can outperform dedicated image processing hardware.
Design professionals can take advantage of both the compute and graphics power of Onyx systems. Models can be interactively rendered in the graphics, or in the CPUs, providing the ultimate in flexibility in an industry-standard software environment. High Definition display, environment mapping and real-time anti-aliasing of points, lines and polygons are just a few of the advantages of Onyx systems.
Onyx systems provide the industry's most complete platform for digital film and video production. 3D animation, color correction, editing, compositing, effects and digital paint are just a few of the applications for Onyx systems. For the first time, a single multi-purpose computer can outperform dedicated hardware for production and post-production tasks.
For visual simulation, entertainment systems and other real-time
graphics applications, Onyx graphics supercomputers offer the highest
level of realism and a standards-based development environment. Onyx
systems offer integration and flexibility not commonly associated
with supercomputing systems. Onyx is software compatible with other
Silicon Graphics computers, including Indigo power desktop systems
and Crimson deskside workstations [and later models]. Digital Media,
CASE tools, productivity software and specialized applications are
all within easy reach of the technical computing professional in the
Onyx environment.
Onyx Specifications
Processor Data Microprocessor MIPS R4400SC 64-bit RISC CPU Processors 2 to 24 Clock frequency 100MHz / 150MHz Primary caches 16K / 16K on-chip I/D cache, Secondary cache 1MB combined L2 cache per CPU Graphics RealityEngine2: 2M t-mesh triangles/second 930K textured t-mesh triangles/second 80/160/320M textured, anti-aliased pixels/second Hardware texture mapping Real-time anti-aliasing VGA up to 1600x1200 and HDTV display Advanced stereo modes Hardware image processing acceleration 48-bit RGBA color, quad-buffered (192 bits total) 256 to 1024 bits per pixel 40 to 160MB frame buffer NTSC/PAL/S-Video output VTX: 1M t-mesh triangles/second 450K textured t-mesh triangles/second 80M textured, anti-aliased pixels/second Hardware texture mapping Real-time anti-aliasing VGA up to 1280 x 1024 display Advanced stereo modes Hardware image processing acceleration 48-bit RGBA color, quad-buffered (192 bits total) 256 bits per pixel 40MB frame buffer NTSC/PAL/S-Video output System Bus Bandwidth 1.2 GB/sec, parity protected Size 256-bit wide data path 40-bit wide physical address path Memory subsystem Physical memory 64MB to 16GB, ECC protected Interleaving 1, 2, 4 or 8-way High-Speed I/O Subsystem Bus type SGI HIO bus Bandwidth 320 MB/sec per HIO bus No. of buses 1 to 4 No. of slots 1 to 8 Industry Standard I/O Subsystem Bus type VME64 bus Bandwidth 50MB/sec per VME64 bus No. of buses 1 to 5 No. of slots 3 to 24 Mass Storage Interfaces Up to 32 SCSI-2 channels Protocols SCSI-2, fast and wide, single-ended or differential Max. bandwidth 20 MB/sec per channel Device capacity 2GB, formatted [and later, larger sizes] Removable Media SCSI devises CDROM, DAT, 8mm tape drive, 1/4" cartridge tape Communications Integrated serial I/O Up to 16 serial ports, Ethernet, SCSI-2 Integrated parallel I/O Up to 4 parallel ports VME controllers Ethernet, FDDI SGI HIO controllers FDDI, HiPPI, SCSI-2 Dimensions & Weights Base Unit Dimensions Height: 62.3" Width: 27" Depth: 48" Net weight 400lbs (181kg) Environmental (Non-Operating) Temperature -20 to +60 C Humidity 10% to 95% non-condensing Altitude 40,000 MSL Environmental (Operating) Temperature +5 to +35 C Humidity 10% to 80% non-condensing Altitude 10,000 MSL Noise 65dBA Electrical & Power Voltage - standard 208-230 VAC 1 Phase Voltage - optional 208 VAC 3 Phase US Voltage - optional 400 VAC 3 Phase Europe Frequency 50/60 Hz Heat dissipation 16,000 BTU/hr, max (1 Phase) 24,000 BTU/hr max (3 Phase) Electrical service 208 VAC @ 30A (1 Phase) 208 VAC @ 30A (3 Phase, 4 wire) 400 VAC @ 15A (3 Phase, 5 wire) Service type IEC-309 Software System Software IRIX 5.0, IEEE POSIX 1003.1, FIPS 151-1, UNIX System V, 4.3 BSD enhancements, SVID Issue 3, X11 R5 Window System, Motif Window Manager 1.2, IRISGL, IRIS Showcase, IRIS Explorer (optional) Compilers ANSI C, C++, Fortran77, Ada, Pascal, Power C Accelerator (PCA), Power Fortran Accelerator (PFA) Programming env. CASEVision / Workshop Graphics OpenGL, IRIS GL Networking TCP/IP, NFS, DECnet, LAT, IBM 3270, SNA3270, SNA3770, SNA LU6.2, NetVisualyzer, Spectrum SNMP management SNMP MIB
U.S. 1(800) 800-7441
Europe (41) 22-798.75.25
North Pacific (81) 3-5420.71.10
South Pacific (61) 2-879.95.00
Latin America 1(415) 390.58.28
Canada 1(416) 674.5300
Corporate Office
2011 N. Shoreline Boulevard
Mountain View, CA 94043
Copyright 1993 Silicon Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved. Specifications are subject to change without notice. Silicon Graphics, the Silicon Graphics logo, and IRIS are registered trademarks, and Crimson, Indigo, Indigo2, IRIS Graphics Library, IRIS GL, Open GL, ImageVision Library, CASEVision, IRIX, Reality Engine, Reality Engine2, IRIS Showcase, IRIX Explorer, NetVisualyzer, Onyx are trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc. MIPS and R3000 are registered trademarks, and R4000 and R4400, are trademarks of MIPS Technologies, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc. DECnet is a trademark of Digital Electronics Corp. Motif is a trademark of Open System Foundation.
Specifications are subject to change without notice.
Images courtesy of: Salt Dome Model: Image provided courtesy of Dynamic Graphics, Inc. Alameda, CA. Acura: Alias Studio rendering of Acura NSX by Honda R&D Co. Ltd., Walkman: Sony Corporation/Alias Studio,3 Cars: Gingko Design/Alias Studio, Medical: Johns Hopkins University, Bunker courtesy E-Systems.
Design: Silicon Graphics Creative Group.