SGI Launches Initiative to Dramatically Improve Linux Visualization

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SGI Launches Initiative to Dramatically Improve Linux Visualization
Capabilities

SGI Driving Faster Innovation and Opening New Markets For Graphics
Applications Developers

NEW YORK, NY, LinuxWorld Booth 459 (January 20, 2004)-Silicon Graphics (NYSE:
SGI) today launched an initiative that will bring the world's most advanced
graphics technology to computers running the Linux® operating system. The
initiative comprises two elements: SGI's collaboration with various open
source graphics projects, including Chromium, and delivery of a comprehensive
developer tool kit.

The initiative enables developers to create new advanced visualization
applications for Linux, opening new market opportunities that meet the needs
of technical, large data, high-performance computing users. This new
initiative answers the need for a commercial Linux visualization solution on
par with high-end UNIX® visualization systems. Developers for early Linux
centric technical markets, such as bio-informatics and university research,
will have access to highly affordable, scalable technologies that will enable
them to leverage these opportunities.

The SGI® Visualization Developer Tool Kit for Linux, available immediately,
includes a full suite of tools and technologies that accelerate the pace of
innovation for visualization on Linux. At the center of the Tool Kit is early
access to a scalable, multi-CPU, multi-GPU Silicon Graphics® visualization
system for Linux built around the SGI® NUMAflex(tm) shared memory
architecture, using Intel® Itanium® 2 processors. Compared with typical
clustered systems, in which code is broken up over multiple nodes, the
NUMAflex architecture enables greater ease of development because all code is
stored in a single shared memory system. The tool kit also includes porting
guides, APIs and SDKs (software development kits).

This initiative, launched at the LinuxWorld trade show in New York, allows
Linux application developers to create new software for a coming era of
advanced, scalable visualization on Linux. To date, visualization on Linux
has been constrained by PC-class system performance. Soon, however, SGI will
remove these limitations by introducing a scalable Linux visualization system
based on the Intel Itanium 2 microprocessor. This will enable independent
software developers to support customers' needs to visualize large data sets
on the same Linux operating system on which the data is generated.

"Silicon Graphics sees the convergence of advanced visualization with Linux
on Intel Itanium 2 as a powerful, strategic trend," said Paul McNamara,
senior vice president and general manager, Visual Systems Group, SGI. "The
Developer Tool Kit that we are announcing today is a resource for application
developers and will help to accelerate the development of advanced graphics
capabilities for large, complex data sets in Linux.  Furthermore, SGI's
support of the Chromium Project, and the contributions of code that we will
be making to this project, again demonstrates SGI's long-standing commitment
to the Open Source movement."

The Chromium Project was begun more than a decade ago as a Stanford
University project doing advanced development for Linux clusters. It has
evolved in part into a collection of initiatives to enhance the performance
of visualization systems for Linux. SGI's contributions to the project will
focus on pushing graphics on Linux to far higher levels of performance. SGI
will also take an active role in key open source projects that establish the
high performance underpinnings of future scalable visualization solutions.

"We're excited to be increasing our activity in the Linux community," said
Kevin McLaughlin, vice president of Engineering, Visual Systems Group, SGI.
"We have been involved in key projects in the past, such as DMX for scalable
windowing systems, and are looking forward to delivering our new developer
kit and expanding our role into more Open Source projects."

"Silicon Graphics has long been known for its excellence in computer graphics
and high-performance computing. To see them combine these and bring that
power to the Linux community is very exciting," said Jon "maddog" Hall,
president and executive director, Linux International.

Silicon Graphics has been a long-time contributor to the Linux community.
Over the past five years, SGI has offered many key graphics technologies to
the open source community, including Open Inventor(tm), an industry leading
visualization scene graph, an OpenGL® sample implementation, and the key
components for the OpenML® standard. In addition, SGI has provided many core
server and system technologies to the Linux community for high-performance
computing and storage, such as the highly valued XFS® journaled file system.

The Developer Tool Kit for Linux also includes a developer's guide for
porting up from single GPU, single CPU PCs to this new scalable environment,
and for porting advanced code on the Silicon Graphics® Onyx4(tm) and
workstations across to the new Linux 64-bit environment. Other tools include
tips on optimization, code examples for advanced techniques, key Open Source
project pointers, and early access to the full complement of Silicon Graphics
world leading graphics software tools, such as OpenGL Performer(tm), OpenGL
Volumizer(tm) and OpenGL Vizserver(tm). Early users of the toolkit report
excellent results.

"We have seen a strong customer demand for scalable visualization using
Itanium 2 and Linux. We're excited by the scalability we've seen when running
Open Inventor and Amira on an early access system," said Steve Lutz, vice
president, Sales and Marketing, TGS. "We believe that the Linux Developer Kit
will be an extremely useful tool to developers writing advanced visualization
applications."

SGI's drive to enhance Linux visualization is a natural outgrowth of the
company's lead position in delivering high-performance Linux OS-based
systems, as well as its leadership in enabling scientists and engineers to
visualize the most demanding and data-intensive problems. With its Altix(tm)
product line, SGI offers the most powerful and scalable Itanium 2-based
systems running on Linux. The Altix family also includes a departmental
server product line that represents a price/performance breakthrough in
midrange technical computing. SGI advanced visualization technology is used
by energy companies to locate new sources of oil and gas, by design engineers
to build safer automobiles and more effective Navy ships and military
vehicles, by intelligence analysts to identify new threats to national
security and by scientists searching for the cause of disease.

This 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 viewer 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 impact of
competitive markets, the ability to integrate and support a complex
technology solution involving multiple providers and users, the acceptance of
applicable technologies by markets and customers, and other risks detailed
from time to time in the company's most recent SEC reports, including its
reports on From 10-K and Form 10-Q.

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 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
www.sgi.com.

-end-

Silicon Graphics, SGI, InfiniteReality, OpenGL, OpenML, Onyx, XFS, the SGI
cube and the SGI logo are registered trademarks and Altix, NUMAflex, Open
Inventor, OpenGL Performer, OpenGL Volumizer, OpenGL Vizserver, Onyx4 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
registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United
States and other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group
in the U.S. 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.


Media Contacts:

Theresa Campbell
theresac@sgi.com
916.419.0281

Doug Black
Noblemen Group
dblack@noblemengroup.com
781.631.2593

SGI PR Hotline:
650.933.7777


<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
                             Doug Black
                  Noblemen Communications
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Strategic Marketing & Corporate Communications
   Public Relations ~ Public Speaking Programs
                      Advertising ~ Branding
                     Phone: (781) 631-2593
                       Cell: (781) 389-3772
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>