#REAL GLASS ?
Specmarks, especially SpecFP, mean *everything* when it comes to
photo-realistic and near-photrealistic rendering in 3D. The only
thing SGI has that comes anywhere near near-photrealistic rendering
in realtime is the RealityEngine. Those machines are a steal
starting at around $200K.
The hardware garoud shading and even texture mapping in the medium-end
SGI machines is great for VR, but it is little use for photorealistic
animation other than for previews. Realtime previews would be a
really nice thing to have though.
I think if you look at what you can get for $10,000 or below, the PC
still blows SGI away. But if you have at least $20K to spend on a
machine, the SGI starts to look really good. Your net render idea
sounds intersting.