3rd party RAM, disk, and software query

[Martin S. Weinhous]

We need to augment our two 4D120GTXs with ...
  SOFTWARE:	C++, Pascal, LISP, and PHIGS+
  RAM:		power series SIMMS
  DISK:		ESDI and/or SCSI
  MISC:		video frame grabber
Given that SGI's present prices are ..., well "high," we would
appreciate comments on 3rd party sources for the above.

Specifically:  Has anyone implemented any c++ on a power series
Iris?  Which one?  How well does it work?  Is SGI's c++ their own?
How well does it work?  Does the gnu c++ work on the power series?
Any general comments on Pascal, LISP Phigs+?

Who is getting Power Series RAM from what company(s)?  At what
prices?

How does performance compare for ESDI and SCSI disks on a 120GTX?
Is it different for a 240?  Who is getting disks from what company(s)?
At what prices?

Has anyone had experience with the SGI video boards?  How well do
they function as frame grabbers?  What are the "good" alternatives?
(We need a good S/N ratio for accurate digitization of x-ray images.)

As these questions are of general interest, I promise to sumarize
the responses and post them to info-iris.

Thanks in advance.
--

						Marty Weinhous
					  <weinhous at castor.wustl.edu>
				 	<...!uunet!wucs1!dinorah!weinhous>