ENGINEERING

LOS ANGELES, CA -- SGI (NYSE: SGI), a leader in high-performance computing and visualization solutions, today announced the new Silicon Graphics(R) O2+(TM) visual workstation delivering a new level of performance and features in a UNIX(R) OS-based workstation designed for technical and creative customers. Based on an innovative Unified Memory Architecture (UMA), the new O2+ visual workstation satisfies customer requirements for realism and reliability by enabling and integrating stunning 3D graphics, powerful image processing and real-time video processing far beyond any other system available in its class. O2+ features a bold purple chassis and two value-packed configurations with new powerful RISC processor options, the PMC-Sierra(TM) RM7000A(TM) 350 MHz processor or the MIPS(R) R12000A(TM) 400 MHz processor. O2+ is bundled with a robust software suite for collaboration, connectivity and digital media along with the SGI(TM) IRIX(R) operating system, known for its real-time response, reliability and serviceability. O2+ is the ideal workstation for creative and technical professionals in markets such as medical imaging, scientific visualization, 2D and 3D animation, broadcasting, simulation and defense. The new O2+ visual workstation delivers up to 47% more compute power and 32% more graphics performance than its award-winning precursor, the Silicon Graphics(R) O2(R) visual workstation (1). O2+ also offers industry-leading texture memory capacity, with support for over 900MB resident texture memory from available system memory in a 1GB memory configuration. The new O2+ workstation delivers more than 60% price/performance improvement over the previous-generation O2 workstation with its value-rich configurations with additional system memory and disk space (2). SGI debuts the new O2+ visual workstation in booth 1401 at SIGGRAPH 2001. The Silicon Graphics O2+ visual workstation starts at $7,495 (U.S. list) and is available immediately from authorized SGI solution providers. "The introduction of the new O2+ workstation with its one-of-a-kind capabilities is another demonstration of SGI's commitment to its world-class customers who rely on the strength of the IRIX platform," said Greg Estes, vice president of marketing at SGI. "O2+ offers a new level of value and performance to the innovative customers who use it to create real-time broadcast graphics, world-class special effects and groundbreaking medical solutions that extend the quality of our lives." O2+ Features plus Performance - A Winning Combination The O2+ visual workstation delivers a performance leap, a robust feature set and an affordable price that firmly position it as the value/performance leader in its class of UNIX workstation solutions for a wide range of visual computing applications. This performance boost translates into significant application performance improvements. Designed with creative and technical professionals in mind, O2+ uniquely integrates high-quality graphics and powerful processing with built-in video capabilities. Industry-leading features include: -- Powerful processing with either the PMC-Sierra RM7000A 350 MHz processor with 256KB L2 cache, 1MB L3 cache or MIPS R12000A 400 MHz processor with 2MB L2 cache for top application performance -- High system value with more system memory included in standard configurations than previous O2 configurations -- 256MB to 1GB synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) system memory option for real-time interactivity with very large data sets -- Expansive 18GB disk space for the starting configurations -- Affordable price -- starting at $7,495 (U.S. list) for the RM7000A configuration with 256MB SDRAM and $14,495 (U.S. list) for the R12000A configuration with 512MB SDRAM -- Innovative Unified Memory Architecture for unmatched price/performance -- High-quality digital image processing and real-time compression and decompression for 2D/3D rendering and broadcast graphics -- Volume rendering and large textures (over 900MB available texture memory in a 1GB memory configuration) for scientific imaging The UMA behind O2+ is key to its capabilities and its affordability. The UMA design accommodates simultaneous data flows from the system resources (CPU, graphics, video, imaging, compression and I/O). Each computing resource has equal access to the 2.1GB-per-second unified main memory subsystem. O2+ is a highly affordable product because the UMA leverages industry-standard memory, high-performance synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) to accommodate different memory-intensive types, whether 3D geometry, 2D images or video streams. Because system memory is allocated for graphics and image processing, with a 1GB memory configuration on O2+ you actually have support for over 900MB resident texture memory from available system memory. Another benefit of UMA is that customers get a graphics performance boost with a simple processor upgrade. For additional information visit www.sgi.com