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Sun SPARCstation IPX - zxnet

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Quick Specs
Architecture: sun4c
CPU: Fujitsu MB86903 or Weitek W8701 @ 40MHz
Max Ram: 64MB
chassis: Lunchbox
bus: SBus, 2 slots

Sun SPARCstation IPX

The SPARCstation IPX is a small SPARC based computer in a lunchbox type case. It is the faster/newer version of the SPARCstation IPC. Compared to the IPC it can take up to 64MB of 72pin memory (instead of 48MB of 30pin) and has onboard colour graphics.
SPARCstation IPX
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I bought my machine for NZ$1.00 on 20 July 2008 and it was suffering from NVRAM failure when I got it (much the same as my SPARCstation IPC) but I have since replaced the chips battery and recapped the PSU. The machine also arived with one failed memory module which has been replaced. The system is configured with 64MBytes of RAM and an extra SBus SCSI controller.

Power Supply Warning

All lunchbox form-factor SPARCstations including the IPX (and especially the model 811 drive enclosures of the same size) must have their power supplies checked for leaking capacitors. Don't assume the PSU is fine just because it still works as the corrosive electrolyte can make quite a mess when (not if) it starts leaking. If you can detect an unpleasant fishy-like smell coming from the PSU the capacitors have probably already started leaking and action should be taken sooner rather than later to limit the damage. If it currently works, looks and smells fine you should probably still plan to replace the capacitors - its a much easier and more pleasant job to do while the electrolyte is still inside the the capacitors rather than all over the board.

The Glitch Works has a guide on Recapping the SPARCstation IPC Power Supply complete with part numbers for replacement capacitors, though as of 2023 some of the replacement parts have been discontinued so you may need to find suitable subsititutes. I went through this in April 2023 restoring my SPARCstation IPX to working condition. With the parts on hand and a desoldering gun the process took around two hours assuming the capacitors haven't already started leaking.

Hardware Information

SPARCstation IPX (4/50)
        Processor(s):   Fujitsu MB86903 or Weitek W8701 @ 40MHz, FPU on
                        CPU chip, Sun-4c MMU, 8 hardware contexts,
                        28.5 MIPS, 4.2 MFLOPS, 21.8 SPECint92,
                        21.5 SPECfp92, 517 SPECintRate92, 510
                        SPECfpRate92
        Chassis type:   lunchbox
        Bus:            SBus, 2 slots
        Memory:         64M physical; 64K write-through cache,
                        direct-mapped, virtually indexed, virtually
                        tagged, 32-byte lines
        Architecture:   sun4c
        Notes:          Code name "Hobbes". 4M or 16M x 33 72-pin SIMMs.
                        Onboard GX-accelerated cg6 color framebuffer
                        (not usable with mono monitors, unlike SBus
                        version). Picture of Hobbes (from Watterson's
                        "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip) silkscreened on
                        motherboard. 1.44M 3.5" floppy.
          

Graphics

The SPARCstation IPX uses a colour framebuffer capable of the following resolutions:

ALALOG FRAME BUFFERH-SYNCV-SYNC
1152x90061.8KHz66Hz
1152x90071.7KHz76Hz
1024x80071.7KHz85Hz
1022x100081.1KHz76Hz

Motherboard

Motherboard

RAM

The SPARCstation IPX can take the following memory configurations

Total
Memory
MEM1
U0407
MEM2
U0408
MEM3
U0409
MEM4
U0410
8MB4MB 4MB 
12MB4MB4MB4MB 
16MB4MB4MB4MB4MB
16MB16MB   
20MB16MB 4MB 
24MB16MB4MB 4MB
28MB16MB4MB4MB4MB
32MB16MB 16MB 
36MB16MB16MB4MB 
40MB16MB16MB4MB4MB
48MB16MB16MB16MB 
52MB16MB16MB16MB4MB
64MB16MB16MB16MB16MB

Documentation

See also

SPARCstation IPX on obsolyte.com