The launch marks the company's entry into NT-based market with a workstation that combines high-end visual computing, breakthrough graphics and media capabilities with the affordability and compatibility of the Wintel platform, said company sources.

"There is no other Intel and Windows NT-based product in the world that can give customers as much performance and capability at such unbelievable prices," said Silicon Graphics Systems India managing director Ashok Desai in a press meet.

The machine, targeted at small and medium enterprises, carries a beginning price tag of Rs 2.65 lakh, which is far cheaper than most of the workstations currently available in the market. The company expressed hope that the new NT-based series of machines will form about 50 per cent of its unit sales in the first year and close to 75 per cent in the next.

The revenue ratio will, however, not be affected as NT-based machines new machines are cheaper and targeted at the low-end segments unlike the Unix-based workstations in which SGI claims to enjoy market leadership with 30 per cent share, said Desai. The company officials declined to give sale projections for the machines.

SGI also appointed Summit Data Products as master reseller for its products. It plans to appoint over 100 new resellers in the near future, Desai said.