SGI Somnigroup International Inc

SGI Drives Down Price of Acclaimed Server, Storage and Visualization Solutions Award-Winning SGI Products Cross Threshold of Mid-Range Affordability for Users Coveting Advanced Technologies MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With today's unveiling of new rack-mounted SGI(R) Altix(R) 330 server and SGI(R) InfiniteStorage S330 storage array, Silicon Graphics (NYSE:SGI) also today announced it has successfully driven the price of its acclaimed high-performance server, visualization and storage solutions to unprecedented price points. The culmination of numerous aggressive product announcements since January, SGI today presents a complete portfolio of award-winning products made affordable for companies, research institutions, universities, and government users seeking departmental or workgroup server, storage and visualization solutions. "SGI systems have long been viewed as top-performing solutions that come at a premium price," said Earl Joseph, vice president of High Performance Technical Systems at IDC, who saw the mid-range High-Performance Technical Computing market grow by 47 percent in 2004(1). "But by leveraging its high-end architectures to distil mid-range, volume-priced models, SGI is establishing a significant differentiation point in a rapidly growing marketplace increasingly defined by commoditization." Additions to SGI's portfolio of lower-cost(2) mid-range solutions announced today are: -- SGI Altix 330 server entry priced under $7,000 packs the performance(3) of the world's fastest Linux(R) server a compact, high density chassis practically the size of a pizza box. -- SGI InfiniteStorage S330 storage array is entry priced at $12,599 -- high-end performance and functionality at less than half the price of previous SGI storage offerings. -- SGI(R) Altix(R) 350 mid-range server, unveiled in January 2004 with an entry price of $12,799 is the only midrange system purpose-built specifically for scientists, design engineers, researchers and other technical computing users. (See SGI Attacks Mid-Range Market with Aggressively Priced Server and Storage Offerings.) Existing offerings complementing the entry-level portfolio are: -- Silicon Graphics Prism(TM) deskside visualization system, with a starting price of less than $8,500, answers mounting demand for more visualization capability from Linux system users struggling with large data problems; -- SGI(R) Altix(R) 1350 factory integrated cluster is able to pack up to 32 Intel(R) Itanium(R) 2 processors into each compute node. With prices starting as low as $49,000 for a capability cluster, the Altix 1350 delivers leading price/performance, usability and flexibility to cluster users seeking true HPC performance. -- SGI(R) Altix(R) Hybrid Cluster a single, cohesive computing solution leverages the best of two distinct computing environments by adding superior 64-bit Altix performance to traditional 32-bit clusters. Altix Hybrid clusters begin at $3,200 per 2-processor node. Key to delivering SGI's latest mid-range products is a worldwide indirect sales channel. In May, SGI announced plans to aggressively expand its global channel distribution strategy and indirect sales model. This announcement included the launch of the new SGI(R) Channel Connection program -- a robust sales, marketing, and technical support program that will enable channel partners to build mutually successful business opportunities in the low- to mid-range HPC market. "Today marks a watershed moment in SGI's history as all of our major product lines now have models that meet departmental and workgroup budgets while still delivering world-class HPC performance and exceptional value to customers," said Dave Gibson, director of Channels, Americas, SGI. "By working closely with our Channel Connection program members, we expect to create effective and profitable delivery strategies for these exciting new products." SILICON GRAPHICS | The Source of Innovation and Discovery(TM) SGI, also known as Silicon Graphics, Inc., is the world's leader in high-performance computing, visualization and storage. SGI's vision is to provide technology that enables the most significant scientific and creative breakthroughs of the 21st century. Whether it's sharing images to aid in brain surgery, finding oil more efficiently, studying global climate, providing technologies for homeland security and defense or enabling the transition from analog to digital broadcasting, SGI is dedicated to addressing the next class of challenges for scientific, engineering and creative users. With offices worldwide, the company is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., and can be found on the Web at http://www.sgi.com/. Silicon Graphics, SGI, Altix, the SGI cube and the SGI logo are registered trademarks and Silicon Graphics Prism and The Source of Innovation and Discovery are trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries worldwide. Intel and Itanium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in several countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners. This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding SGI technologies and third-party technologies that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely unduly on these forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future or current performance. Such risks and uncertainties include long-term program commitments, the performance of third parties, the sustained performance of current and future products, financing risks, the ability to integrate and support a complex technology solution involving multiple providers and users, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's most recent SEC reports, including its reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. (1) http://www.hpcuserforum.com/article/viewArticle.asp?articleID=251&articleTypeI D=2 (2) All prices mentioned are in U.S. Dollars and based on entry-level U.S. list pricing. Prices may vary depending on configuration. Prices subject to change. (3) Estimated (SPECint_rate_base2000) 47.5 2 copy rate run on a 2 processor Altix 330 machine results that have been submitted. For more information on SPEC CPU2000 benchmarks, visit http://www.spec.org/ . Contact: Ginny Babbitt 650-933-4519 PR Hotline 650-933-7777 Fax 650-933-0283 DATASOURCE: SGI CONTACT: Ginny Babbitt, +1-650-933-4519, , PR Hotline: +1-650-933-7777, +1-650-933-0283 (Fax) Web site: http://www.sgi.com/ http://www.spec.org/

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