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0 pointsChrisGreenHeur1d ago0 comments

I see the alternate reality like so:

SGI creates a low power cpu for Apple to use in portable devices, eventually in desktops and laptops (no Arm).

And either: SGI launches low budget PC with playstation 1 level 3d graphics as soon as they could compete with win3.1/95, running Irix. Or: A few years after that SGI launches what is essentially the Voodoo 2.

Any way you look at it the only possible future for SGI was low cost mass market devices. Just a matter of picking which one, they picked none.

0 comments

aa-jv1d ago

Yes.. some interesting thoughts there, MIPS in my pocket: hell yeah.

The crazy thing is, SGI did have internal research projects to do such things .. they had engineers working on porting Netscape to the N64, which could very well have served as the basis for a more interesting consumer-end mass market device. Imagine if someone at SGI had put a cell modem in the mix somehow, yikes.

Well, its all a dream. Meanwhile I still have all my SGI gear, and I'm not afraid to admit I've been looking at 3DFX Voodoo cards on EBay a little more than I should have today ..

anthk1d ago

>Yes.. some interesting thoughts there, MIPS in my pocket: hell yeah.

The PSP, and twice, as it had an r3k interpreter/loader for PSX games.

Also, you can call me crazy, but I played Nethack under the PSP with the CFW mod setting the clock from 222MHZ to 50MHZ lasting the battery a few hours more...

The GCWZero was a MIPS console too, and pcsx-rearmed had optimisations for that too.

badsectoracula1d ago

> The GCWZero was a MIPS console too

There have been a couple of GCWZero clones made in more recent years (e.g. from Anbernic) running the same (or a derivative) Linux-based OS with JZ4770 MIPS SoC and software compatibility. Too bad Ingenic never released any successor to the SoC though.

evereverever1d ago

N64 was kinda that.

anthk1d ago

The closest would be the PSP with NetBSD and custom firmware with libre code. Same family in the end.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointsChrisGreenHeur1d ago0 comments

I see the alternate reality like so:

SGI creates a low power cpu for Apple to use in portable devices, eventually in desktops and laptops (no Arm).

Any way you look at it the only possible future for SGI was low cost mass market devices. Just a matter of picking which one, they picked none.

0 comments

aa-jv1d ago

Yes.. some interesting thoughts there, MIPS in my pocket: hell yeah.

Well, its all a dream. Meanwhile I still have all my SGI gear, and I'm not afraid to admit I've been looking at 3DFX Voodoo cards on EBay a little more than I should have today ..

anthk1d ago

>Yes.. some interesting thoughts there, MIPS in my pocket: hell yeah.

The PSP, and twice, as it had an r3k interpreter/loader for PSX games.

Also, you can call me crazy, but I played Nethack under the PSP with the CFW mod setting the clock from 222MHZ to 50MHZ lasting the battery a few hours more...

The GCWZero was a MIPS console too, and pcsx-rearmed had optimisations for that too.

badsectoracula1d ago

> The GCWZero was a MIPS console too

evereverever1d ago

N64 was kinda that.

anthk1d ago

The closest would be the PSP with NetBSD and custom firmware with libre code. Same family in the end.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse