SGI Octane2 Capacitor Replacement Guide
The capacitors that matter most in an SGI Octane2 are in its power supply. SGI's Octane2 Workstation Owner's Guide treats the supply as a single replaceable unit and lists no components for it or for any other module.[1] No capacitor list for the Octane2's own system board or VPro graphics boards has been published. What owners have published is a full recap list for the Cherokee 747 W supply, the type fitted for VPro graphics, which is on the SGI Octane Capacitor Replacement Guide.[2][3]
Warning: the supply runs from the mains and its two 470 µF 450 V bulk capacitors stay charged after the cord is removed. Discharge them and check with a meter before touching the boards.[2]
The Octane2's power supply
[edit | edit source]SGI requires a supply that hinv -m reports as PWR.SPPLY.ER 060-0035-001 or later for VPro graphics, and says a machine already running VPro correctly has one.[4][5] Owners identify this as the silver-handled Cherokee 747 W supply.[3][6] Check the part number before ordering capacitors: an Octane2 can arrive with a different supply fitted, as one owner found with a Lucent unit in his.[7]
For a Cherokee, use Erik Baigar's list of 32 electrolytics (two 470 µF 450 V bulk capacitors, large 6.3 V and 10 V capacitors, and smaller 25 V, 35 V and 450 V parts) and his bench-test method, both on SGI Octane Capacitor Replacement Guide#Cherokee 747 W supply. His measurements of the 1000 µF parts he removed showed little loss of capacitance, and his supply turned out to be sound; a recap is not a guaranteed cure for a supply that will not start.[2]
Signs of a failing supply
[edit | edit source]- The click of death, or a supply that starts for a moment and stops, as on the Octane; see SGI Octane2 Troubleshooting Guide#Power faults.
- A burning smell and a shutdown under heavy load. On one dual-processor Octane2 with V12 graphics the smell came from a yellow-wrapped component on the supply's output; the owner found the capacitors beside it in perfect condition.[8]
See also Capacitor Failure Symptoms.
System board 030-1467-001
[edit | edit source]No component list or board photograph with readable markings has been published for the Octane2's system board. The parts on the original Octane board, photographed and described on the SGI Octane Capacitor Replacement Guide#IP30 system board, are mostly tantalum chips with a few surface-mount aluminium electrolytics in the audio section; whether the 030-1467-001 board follows the same layout has not been documented. Erik Baigar's power-on fault, a shorted 10 µF 16 V capacitor (C1053) beside the DS1687 real-time clock, was on an Octane system board whose revision he did not give.[2]
Before replacing anything on this board, check the rails for a short. One owner chasing a dead 030-1467-001 board measured resistance across its tantalum capacitors to look for a shorted rail.[9]
Recording your own boards
[edit | edit source]Photograph each board before removing anything. For each electrolytic, note its position, value, voltage, temperature rating, diameter, height, lead spacing and polarity against the silkscreen. Order replacements by capacitance and voltage first, then by size and footprint, as Erik Baigar did for his Cherokee.[2]
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- SGI Octane2
- SGI Octane2 General Maintenance
- SGI Octane2 Troubleshooting Guide
- SGI Octane Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Capacitor Failure Symptoms
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Silicon Graphics, Octane2 Workstation Owner's Guide, 007-4207-002, 2000-2002, pp. 61-68 (File:SGI Octane2 Workstation Owner's Guide (007-4207-002).pdf). The supply is changed as a unit.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Erik Baigar (ebaigar), "Octane PSU repair / Cherokee...", IRIXNet forum thread 4349, July to October 2024, forums.irixnet.org/thread-4349.html. Cherokee recap list, bulk capacitors, measurements, C1053.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Raion and jwhat, "Need a fact check for Octane old vs new parts mixing", IRIXNet forum thread 4213, February 2024, forums.irixnet.org/thread-4213.html. Cherokee supply for VPro.
- ↑ Silicon Graphics, Octane Workstation VPro Graphics Power Supply Upgrade Instructions, 007-4208-001, 2000, p. 14 (File:SGI Octane VPro Graphics Power Supply Upgrade Instructions (007-4208-001).pdf).
- ↑ Silicon Graphics, Octane/Octane2 Workstation VPro Graphics Upgrade Kit Installation Guide, 007-4210-003, 2003, p. 1 (File:SGI Octane and Octane2 VPro Graphics Upgrade Kit Installation Guide (007-4210-003).pdf).
- ↑ Zerolapse, "Octane Power Supply", IRIXNet forum thread 788, 2 January 2019, forums.irixnet.org/thread-788.html. Lucent black handle, Cherokee silver handle.
- ↑ Ade2548, "Octane2 Boot problem", IRIXNet forum thread 4951, June 2026, forums.irixnet.org/thread-4951.html. Lucent supply in an Octane2.
- ↑ Irinikus, "Failure of an Octane2 power supply!", IRIXNet forum thread 1065, March to June 2019, forums.irixnet.org/thread-1065.html.
- ↑ MindWalker, "Seeking help with an Octane (2?) CPU repair/replacement", IRIXNet forum thread 4870, 25 March 2026, forums.irixnet.org/thread-4870.html.