Despite company chairman and chief executive Ed McCracken’s quip that we want our systems to make money, not count it, Silicon Graphics Inc is currently dressing up its high-end, 64-bit symmetric multiprocessors with all the trappings of the commercial systems world, and is expecting to enter that market more formally within three to six months. Silicon Graphics, known primarily for its expertise in graphics and multimedia and given its widest public exposure via its machines’ role in the creation of computer animated scenes for the Jurassic Park film – is currently working with database and other software partners on preparing TPC measurements for of an assault on what it calls its final market. Initially, Silicon Graphics will offer commercialised versions of its top-end Challenge and Power Challenge servers – although in a more sedate beige or grey livery than the indigo or crimson we’re used to. Ground-up commercial boxes are likely to follow. The group expects existing OEM customers – Tandem Computers Inc, Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG, Pyramid Technology Corp and the like to take the systems under existing arrangements. Challenge machines use up to 36 of Silicon Graphics subsidiary MIPS Technologies Inc’s R4400 RISC chips – Power Challenge will feature up to 18 of the high-end floating-point intensive TFP R4000 variants being co-developed with Toshiba Corp. TFP and Power Challenge, were both scheduled to ship at the year-end, but as reported, delivery dates have slipped. Although first TFP silicon has been delivered, McCracken says that one more pass at the chip will be required before general sampling can begin. Shipments will begin by the end of the first quarter of next year. The Mountain View, California company has three server divisions, but the information servers unit, home of its commercial effort, is being run by former Pyramid staffer Ross Bott. – John Abbott
