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SGI Visual Workstation 320

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SGI Visual Workstation 320
SGI Visual Workstation 320 (SGI product guide photo)
Silicon Graphics 320 with a flat panel monitor, from SGI's 1999 product guide
Specifications
ManufacturerSilicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI)
TypeWorkstation
Released1999[1]
CPUOne or two Intel Pentium II or Pentium III (Slot 1), 100 MHz front side bus[2][3]
Memory128 MB to 1 GB ECC SDRAM in twelve SGI DIMM slots[4]
StorageUltra ATA hard disk; optional Ultra2 SCSI on a PCI card[2]
DisplayVGA monitor port; optional digital flat panel port (1600SW)[5]
SoundIntegrated 16-bit, 44.1 kHz stereo[2]
GraphicsSGI Cobalt chipset, unified memory[3]
ExpansionThree 3.3 V PCI slots on two buses[6]
Power485 W input, switch-selected voltage range[2]
Dimensions20 × 9.25 × 18.75 in (L × W × H)[2]
Weight34 lb (15.4 kg) maximum[2]
OS / FirmwareWindows NT 4.0 Workstation[2]

The SGI Visual Workstation 320 (sold as the Silicon Graphics 320 visual workstation) is an Intel-based workstation that Silicon Graphics introduced in 1999 to run Windows NT 4.0.[1][7] It takes one or two Pentium II or Pentium III processors, but the rest of the machine is SGI's own design: the Cobalt graphics chipset, a unified memory system shared by the processors and the graphics, and ARC-style firmware in place of a PC BIOS.[3][1] Its larger sibling, the SGI Visual Workstation 540, uses the same architecture with up to four Pentium III Xeon processors.[3] The later SGI Visual Workstation 230 and SGI Visual Workstation 330 are conventional PCs with a VIA Apollo Pro 133A chipset and a standard BIOS.[8][9]

History

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SGI's launch datasheet lists 350, 400 and 450 MHz Pentium II processors, in single or dual configurations, with Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Service Pack 4 preinstalled.[2] SGI's architecture white paper of the same year gives up to two Pentium II or III processors at up to 550 MHz, and the system Digital Content Creators reviewed in August 1999 had a single 550 MHz Pentium III.[3][10] Windows NT needs an SGI hardware abstraction layer (HAL) on this machine because of the firmware, and Windows 2000 was the last Windows release to include it.[8]

Architecture

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SGI called the design the Integrated Visual Computing (IVC) architecture. The Cobalt chipset is a set of three SGI ASICs on the system board. SGI's white paper describes two of its functions: a graphics engine with geometry acceleration, texture mapping and 2D image acceleration, and an I/O coprocessor that drives the two 64-bit PCI buses, IEEE 1394, and composite and S-video input and output.[3] Memory sits on a 256-bit bus at 100 MHz, giving 3.2 GB per second, and is shared between the processors and the graphics.[2][3] SGI's datasheet gives about 80% of system memory as available for textures.[2] The amount reserved for graphics is set from the Silicon Graphics Settings tab of the Windows Display control panel; Windows keeps 64 MB, and the rest is available to the graphics hardware.[11] An Intel PIIX4 handles the USB ports, Ultra DMA/33 IDE and the super I/O devices.[3][5]

Processors

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The board has two Slot 1 processor slots. A single-processor machine must have a terminator card in the upper slot, and a processor in the upper slot needs a plug-in voltage regulator, supplied with the processor.[12][5] A jumper below the secondary slot sets the processor count, and the speed jumpers are set for 350, 400 or 450 MHz in SGI's table. Both processors must have the same stepping, and Windows NT has to be reinstalled after a second processor or an upgrade is fitted.[12] Owners have since fitted dual 1 GHz Pentium III processors, or a single 1.4 GHz Celeron on a PowerLeap PL-iP3T slot adapter; the SGI320 community site reports that this depends on the PROM version, the voltage regulator module and the system board revision.[13]

Memory

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The twelve DIMM slots form two groups of six, A and B. DIMMs go in in sixes of the same capacity, group A first. The minimum is 128 MB in group A and the maximum is 1 GB with 512 MB double-sided stacked sets in both groups.[4] The modules are SGI's own 100 MHz ECC SDRAM DIMMs; SGI's specification table lists the minimum as six 4M × 48 modules and the maximum as twelve 16M × 48 modules.[2][5]

Storage and expansion

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Two Ultra DMA/33 IDE channels serve the system disk, an optional second disk, the CD-ROM and an optional removable drive in the second 3½-inch bay; the floppy drive has its own interface.[14][5] SCSI disks need a PCI SCSI card. The SGI320 community site reports that the system can only boot from the QLogic 1080 and 1280 controllers SGI shipped.[14][15]

The three PCI slots are one half-length 32-bit slot on bus 0 and two full-length 64-bit slots on bus 1. They take 3.3 V cards only, not 5 V cards, and SGI's Owner's Guide states that PCI graphics cards are not supported.[6] A separate display option slot on the rear panel takes the card for the digital Silicon Graphics 1600SW flat panel.[6]

Ports

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Silicon Graphics 320 rear panel (Owner's Guide, Figure 1-2 and Table A-3)
Port Detail
Ethernet One RJ-45, 10/100 Mbit/s
IEEE 1394 Two, 400 Mbit/s
USB Two; the USB keyboard goes in the left-hand port and the PS/2 mouse plugs into the keyboard
Serial One RS-232
Parallel One IEEE 1284
Monitor VGA with DDC2B
Display option Digital flat panel port (1600SW), on an option card
Audio Microphone, headphone/speaker, analogue line in and out
Video Composite and S-video, in and out

[16][5]

Windows NT 4.0 does not support IEEE 1394, and under NT the keyboard and mouse are the only USB devices supported.[16] The SGI320 site reports that the built-in IEEE 1394 ports are not OHCI-compliant and work only with Digital Origin's drivers and MotoDV.[17]

Power and cooling

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The power supply is SGI's own, rated at 485 W input, with a voltage selector switch above the mains inlet, soft power control and a power good output.[2][16] SGI's datasheet gives the input range as 90–132 V or 176–264 V at 47–63 Hz and 9 A maximum; the Owner's Guide gives 100–120 V at 4.7 A and 200–240 V at 2.5 A.[2][5] The supply connects to the system board with two cables, a main connector and a smaller auxiliary one.[18][19] Cooling comes from two internal fans and the fan in the power supply. One internal fan sits beside the processors, and SGI warns against running the system without it.[5][18]

Firmware

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Pressing Esc in the first few seconds of start-up opens the firmware's graphical setup screens. From there the boot configuration, the clock, the power-on diagnostics level, the firmware password, the parallel port mode and L2 cache error correction can be changed, and the firmware can be flashed from a floppy disk made from Recovery CD 2.[20] The firmware loads Windows from a small FAT partition holding arcldr.exe and hal.dll, so the system disk needs at least two partitions.[11]

Known faults

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  • The machine will not power on after a mains interruption. The SGI320 community site describes the fix SGI used to give: unplug the mains cord, press the front power button several times, wait a minute and plug in again. The same site reports loose screws holding the system board to the chassis causing power-up problems.[21][19]
  • A failed firmware flash leaves the system unable to boot. The community recovery uses a newly formatted floppy labelled SGISETUP with the PROM image, with the password jumper not in the enabled position.[22]
  • A blinking front LED with no picture points to memory or the system board; SGI's blink codes identify a failed DIMM in group A.[23]
  • The power supply is proprietary. A conversion to a standard ATX supply, with a pinout of the SGI connectors, is documented on the SGI320 site.[19]

See SGI Visual Workstation 320 Troubleshooting Guide for the symptom tables and SGI Visual Workstation 320 General Maintenance for routine work.

Documentation

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Contents and coverage of each are on SGI Visual Workstation 320 Documentation.

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  • Rear panel (SGI Owner's Guide, Figure 1-2)
    Rear panel (SGI Owner's Guide, Figure 1-2)
  • Interior with the side cover removed (SGI Owner's Guide, Figure 2-3)
    Interior with the side cover removed (SGI Owner's Guide, Figure 2-3)
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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Gerhard Lenerz, "Visual Workstation 320/540", sgistuff.net, sgistuff.net. ARCS PROM in place of a BIOS, Cobalt chipset, memory sockets.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 Silicon Graphics, Inc., Silicon Graphics 320 Visual Workstation datasheet, 1999 (File:SGI 320 Visual Workstation Datasheet (1999).pdf). Pentium II options, memory bus, texture memory, power supply, drives, dimensions, weight, input power.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Silicon Graphics, Inc., Silicon Graphics Visual Workstations for Windows NT: Integrated Visual Computing Architecture (IVC), white paper, 1999, pp. 4-11, sections 1.3, 2.6, 2.7 and 3.0 (File:SGI Visual Workstations Integrated Visual Computing Architecture White Paper (1999).pdf). Cobalt chipset of three ASICs, 3.2 GB/s memory, two 64-bit PCI buses, PIIX4, processor options of the 320 and 540.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 SGI, 007-3701-001, pp. 23-25 and Table 3-1. Twelve DIMM slots in groups A and B, groups of six, 128 MB minimum, 1 GB maximum.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 SGI, 007-3701-001, pp. 97-101, Tables A-2 and A-3. Dimensions, cooling, AC power, system board specifications.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 SGI, 007-3701-001, pp. 53-58. PCI slots and buses, 3.3 V cards only, no PCI graphics cards, display option card.
  7. ↑ Silicon Graphics, Inc., Silicon Graphics 320 Visual Workstation Owner's Guide, 007-3701-001, 1999, title page, copyright page and "About This Guide" (File:SGI Visual Workstation 320 Owner's Guide (007-3701-001).pdf). Copyright 1999; the system ships with Windows NT installed.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "SGI Visual Workstation", Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org. Custom HAL, Windows 2000 the last release with it; the 230, 330 and 550 as standard PCs.
  9. ↑ Silicon Graphics, Inc., Silicon Graphics 230 Visual Workstation User's Guide, 007-4263-001, chapter 3, techpubs.jurassic.nl. The 230's system board uses a VIA Apollo Pro 133A chipset.
  10. ↑ J. V. Bolkan, "SGI 320 NT Workstation Includes Striking Differences", Digital Content Creators Magazine, 6 August 1999, dccmag.com. Review system with a single 550 MHz Pentium III.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Silicon Graphics, Inc., Silicon Graphics Visual Workstations Software Installation Guide, 007-3703-003, 1999, pp. 32-38 (File:SGI Visual Workstations Software Installation Guide (007-3703-003).pdf). Disk partitioning and the FAT system loader partition, graphics memory allocation.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 SGI, 007-3701-001, pp. 65-77, Tables 6-1 and 6-2. Processor slots, terminator card, processor count and speed jumpers, voltage regulator for the upper slot, stepping, reinstalling Windows NT.
  13. ↑ Milton Adamou, "CPU", SGI320 community site, sgi320.wordpress.com. Maximum processor upgrades and their dependence on PROM, VRM and board revision.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 SGI, 007-3701-001, pp. 31-33 and appendix C. EIDE cabling and master/slave settings, drive bays, SCSI PCI option card.
  15. ↑ Milton Adamou, "Hard Drive", SGI320, sgi320.wordpress.com. Only the QLogic 1080 and 1280 SCSI controllers are bootable.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 SGI, 007-3701-001, pp. 3-8. Rear panel ports (Figure 1-2), keyboard in the left-hand USB port with the mouse on the keyboard, voltage switch, NT 4.0 support for IEEE 1394 and USB.
  17. ↑ Milton Adamou, "USB / Firewire", SGI320, sgi320.wordpress.com. Built-in IEEE 1394 ports not OHCI-compliant.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 SGI, 007-3701-001, pp. 79-87. Power supply cables and removal, internal fan removal and the warning against running without it.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Bob Skiles (2002), "PSU", SGI320, sgi320.wordpress.com. Proprietary supply, connector pinouts, conversion to an ATX supply, the power-on fault.
  20. ↑ Silicon Graphics, Inc., Silicon Graphics Visual Workstations System Firmware User's Guide, 007-4225-001, 1999, pp. 1-14 (File:SGI Visual Workstations System Firmware User's Guide (007-4225-001).pdf). Firmware screens, settings and PROM flashing.
  21. ↑ Milton Adamou, "Other" FAQ, SGI320, sgi320.wordpress.com. Power-up failure after a power cut and the unplug-and-press fix; loose system board screws.
  22. ↑ Milton Adamou, "PROM" FAQ, SGI320, sgi320.wordpress.com. Recovering from a failed PROM flash with an SGISETUP floppy.
  23. ↑ SGI, 007-3701-001, pp. 89-95, Table 8-1. Troubleshooting table, LED blink codes, maintenance tips, password jumper.


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