CompuServe Messages

Thank you for your replies Mike I will take an issue with cost estimates. Here is a quote from 3D Artist magazine. "The entry level machine is the Indy2 100MHZ 8-bit color workstation at $6,995. This is really a stripped down machine requiring additional purchases of accessories to make it operational. An Indy outfitted to run with drives, adequate RAM, necessary graphics card is arround 13,000 without software. A fully loaded 150MHZ 24-bit color Indy2 can cost $21,000. The drawback of this machine is that there is little or no room for expansion insideits tightly packed case." So the cost of an Indy has hidden supprises. That is why companies like Blue Sky (former division of SEGA) also use Amigas, PC's and other computers like a Raptor. (same processor as an SGI lower cost). Also Brouderbund uses Autodesk 3D studio. LucasArts uses 3DS also because of "target market" which is the PC plattform. I still don't question SGI's always being faster. I just question there cost effectiveness for many applications. Realtime SGi's are still king. And in movie they are still king. But TV production is for Sci Fi programs are rulled by Amigas and rapidly gaining ground are PC's. Also The company you describe sounds like they already have big resources. It may be cost effective for them. But it seems to me, That SGI is realistic about the competion. Which is why they are forming Keystone and consolidated with Alias and Wavefront. But summing up my origional point. If what you are doing is not real time, and modeling with a v-card accelerating 300,000 – 700,000 polygons doesn't make much difference with the SGI doing 2 Million Polygons, because both modelers will be fast. Yea, the SGI will render faster, but for the same cost, I can buy extra pc to render to. In the real time market, the games are at most right now 300,000 polygons even in arcades. So if your target market is only that much then again what advantage does and SGI have unless you are doing highly technical enginering or Hollywood graphics? Thank you for suggesting I should see a salesman. I use to work for a Distributer of SGIs and the last company I worked for and 4 Indigo 2s. That is how I formed this opinion. Before then I thought SGIs were the only game in town.