Help me buy a retro Sparc machine (self.retrocomputing)

submitted 1 year ago by mnrockclimber to c/retrocomputing

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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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[-] mrkite@programming.dev 2 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] al177 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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.

[-] sparcipx 1 points 1 year ago

I have one myself… really should get around to setting it up.

this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2023

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