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SGI Personal Iris

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SGI Personal IRIS
SGI Personal Iris (Andy Diller)
Personal IRIS running IRIX (photo: Andy Diller, CC BY-SA 2.0)
Specifications
ManufacturerSilicon Graphics
TypeWorkstation
ReleasedOctober 1988 (4D/20)[1]
CPUMIPS R2000 or R3000, 12.5 to 36 MHz depending on model[1]
Memory8 to 32 MB (4D/20, 4D/25); up to 128 MB (4D/30, 4D/35)[1]
StorageInternal SCSI drives; external SCSI port[1]
Display—
Sound—
ExpansionOne 6U VME slot[1][2]
Power350 W supply: +5 V at 45 A, +12 V at 9 A, −12 V at 2 A[3]
Dimensions23.5 × 55.0 × 50.0 cm (W × H × D)[1]
Weight30 kg[1]
OS / FirmwareIRIX (4D1)[2][4]
SuccessorSGI Indigo

The Personal IRIS is a desk-side workstation made by Silicon Graphics from 1988, the low-cost member of the MIPS-based SGI IRIS 4D series.[4][1] It came as the 4D/20, 4D/25, 4D/30 and 4D/35, with a suffix for the graphics fitted (4D/25TG, for example); the same boxes without graphics were sold as Data Station servers.[1] Its system boards sit in a removable module, the E-module, whose connector panel is under the right-hand plastic skin; the power supply is on the other side of it.[1][3] Wikipedia gives an entry price of £10,300, which made it Silicon Graphics' cheapest workstation.[4]

Models

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Personal IRIS models (sgistuff.net; SGI 1989 brochure)
Model CPU board Processor Clock MIPS MFLOPS
4D/20 IP6 R2000 (late boards R3000) 12.5 MHz 10 0.9
4D/25 IP10 R3000 20 MHz 16 1.6
4D/30 IP14 R3000A 30 MHz 27 4.7
4D/35 IP12 R3000A 36 MHz 33 6.0

[1][2]

History

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SGI introduced the Personal IRIS in 1988 alongside the larger Power IRIS line. Wikipedia dates the 4D/20 to 1988, the 4D/25 to 1989, the 4D/30 to 1990 and the 4D/35 to 1991; sgistuff.net gives October 1988 for the first systems and April 1991 for the 4D/35 announcement.[4][1] The 4D/35 shares much of its design with the SGI Indigo of 1991, and software identifies both by the same processor ID, IP12.[4] jan-jaap, a collector on the IRIX Network forum, describes the R3000 Indigo as the Personal IRIS's successor.[5]

Hardware

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CPU boards

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  • The 4D/20 and 4D/25 use the IP6 and IP10 boards, with 30-pin parity SIMMs in 16 sockets for 8 to 32 MB.[1] SGI's 1989 brochure lists 8 MB as standard, expandable to 32 MB.[2]
  • The 4D/30 and 4D/35 use the IP14 and IP12 boards, with a new memory interface, a 30 MHz system bus in place of 10 MHz, and proprietary SIMMs (the same as the R3000 Indigo's) for up to 128 MB. These boards need a CPU fan, mounted on the E-module cover and powered from a connector at H14.[1]
  • The IP6 and IP10 boards have four status LEDs visible at the back of the E-module; see SGI Personal Iris Troubleshooting Guide.[1]

Graphics, I/O and expansion

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Workstations carry the Personal IRIS graphics option; the 4D/30 and 4D/35 were also offered with the Express graphics of the Indigo.[1] The 1989 brochure describes 256 displayable colours as standard, with optional extra colour planes, a Z-buffer and a Turbo graphics option.[2] The E-module carries AUI Ethernet, a parallel port, two DB-9 serial ports, the keyboard and mouse connector and audio jacks; the 4D/30 and 4D/35 add two mini-DIN serial ports and a 6-pin mini-DIN keyboard connector, and need the Magnum audio board for sound.[1] The keyboard port is not PS/2: the 4D/20 and 4D/25 use a DE-9 connector, and the later models a mini-DIN that is easy to confuse with PS/2 but uses incompatible signal levels.[4] A narrow SCSI controller (Western Digital WD33C93A) serves the internal drives and the external Centronics-style SCSI port, and one 6U VME slot takes expansion cards.[1]

Power supply

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The original supply is an L&H Research CM-E2348A, SGI part 9430801, rated 350 W from 115 or 230 V: +5 V at 45 A, +12 V at 9 A and −12 V at 2 A.[3][6] It has no soft power control: the power switch is wired into its mains input, and the only other signals are remote sense wires from the CPU board and an AC fail line.[6] An L-shaped bracket covers the solder side of its board and serves as a heat sink for several components.[6]

Chassis

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Two chassis versions look almost the same; the later "TFLU" (totally front loading unit) chassis has the system drive on a sled reachable from the front.[1] SGI's brochure says either of the two system boards can be swapped in about ten minutes, and that tape and disk upgrades need no tools.[2]

Known faults

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  • Dead power supplies. jan-jaap says the Personal IRIS has a reputation for its supplies dying, and suggests replacing the electrolytic capacitors before they fail.[7] Owners have fitted Power-One PFC375 supplies or AT computer supplies in place of the original. See SGI Personal Iris Capacitor Replacement Guide.[5][3]
  • Failed mains (X2) suppression capacitors in the supply: one owner found one blown, and jan-jaap advises replacing them all because they absorb moisture with age and crack.[5]
  • A flat NVRAM battery.[5]
  • On the 4D/30 and 4D/35, overheating if the CPU fan is disconnected or has stopped.[1]

Routine care is on SGI Personal Iris General Maintenance and fault-finding on SGI Personal Iris Troubleshooting Guide.

Documentation

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Contents and coverage are on SGI Personal Iris Documentation.

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  • Rear of the tower (Andy Diller, CC BY-SA 2.0)
    Rear of the tower (Andy Diller, CC BY-SA 2.0)
  • Label of the original L&H supply (jan-jaap)
    Label of the original L&H supply (jan-jaap)
  • Original supply (bottom) and a Power-One replacement on the same bracket (jan-jaap)
    Original supply (bottom) and a Power-One replacement on the same bracket (jan-jaap)
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References

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  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 Gerhard Lenerz, "Personal Iris", sgistuff.net, sgistuff.net (retrieved 22 October 2026). Community hardware page: models, CPU boards, memory, graphics, connectors, chassis, dimensions, history, status LEDs.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Silicon Graphics, The Personal IRIS 3D Workstation, brochure, 1989 (File:SGI Personal IRIS brochure (1989).pdf). Performance, memory, interfaces, software, modular design, specifications.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Gerhard Lenerz, "Personal Iris PSU replacement", sgistuff.net, sgistuff.net (retrieved 22 October 2026). Original supply label, colour code and pinouts, fuses, fitting an AT supply.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 "SGI IRIS", Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org (retrieved 22 October 2026). Personal IRIS models and dates, price, IP12 shared with the Indigo, keyboard connectors.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Introducing: my Personal IRIS 4D/35", IRIX Network forum, posts by jan-jaap and others, September 2019 to July 2025, forums.irixnet.org/thread-1468.html. Dead supply and NVRAM battery, Power-One replacement, suppression capacitor failure.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Personal IRIS won't start", IRIX Network forum, posts by GL1zdA, jan-jaap, Raion and weblacky, 25 to 26 August 2021, forums.irixnet.org/thread-3078.html. Supply label, wiring and construction.
  7. ↑ jan-jaap, in "Proactive maintainability of SGI Power Supplies, thoughts?", IRIX Network forum, 17 January 2019, forums.irixnet.org/thread-865.html.


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