Help me buy a retro Sparc machine
Help me buy a retro Sparc machine
I’m curious about picking up a mid to late 90’s Sparc desktop/server. Just to keep rounding out my retro collection. I’m pretty much good on vintage macs and PCs and want to get something similar to the servers I used to bounce around back in the day.
Any models in particular that are great or to avoid? I’m thinking SparcStation or maybe an ultra 1-5. What do I need to look for? Obviously the drive will need to be replaced and I’ll want Ethernet. But anything else to be aware of? I see some eBay listings call out good or bad nvram too.
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I have a Sun Netra X1 sitting on the floor that I've been meaning to get rid of. One thing to keep in mind with the Netra and Sun Fire servers: they have a System Configuration Card in the back which holds their MAC address, NVRAM settings etc.. don't buy one with it missing.
However the X1 motherboard is almost but not quite microATX, so if you can't stand it in the rack mount format you can shove it in a case with a PC PSU. Also, you can safely cut the SCC card flush with the socket to keep it from getting lost.
If you can live without a video console, they're a great first Sun.
I have one myself… really should get around to setting it up.