Silicon Graphics Inc was yesterday completed the top-to-bottom revamp of its product line with the introduction of the new mid-range Octane workstations. The company also cut the prices of the Indigo2 Impact 10000 workstations by up to 22% in an effort to position the line between its entry-level O2 machines introduced in October and the new Octane models. The new Octanes share many of their components with the company’s new supercomputing design unveiled in October and have a much faster and wider bus. While some observers fret that by turning its back on Windows NT, the company is shutting itself out of some of the best software developers in the business, Drew Henry, product line manager of Silicon Graphics’ Power Desktop line, said that with the design used in its O2, Indigo2 and Octane systems, Silicon Graphics can sell levels of performance that are well above levels of performance that you’re going to get out of a Wintel system. The new Octanes ship at the beginning of March and Silicon Graphics expects about half its sales to go via third parties. Pricing for the Octane systems starts at $25,000; the new prices for Indigo2 machines, effective February 1, include up to a 33% reduction in memory and storage upgrade prices, cut the price of its lower-end Indigo2 Solid Impact by 20% to to $20,000.
