diff --git a/m4/curl-compilers.m4 b/m4/curl-compilers.m4
index 9a4547709e..06e335d8fa 100644
--- a/m4/curl-compilers.m4
+++ b/m4/curl-compilers.m4
@@ -48,8 +48,12 @@ AC_DEFUN([CURL_CHECK_COMPILER], [
   CURL_CHECK_COMPILER_INTEL_C
   CURL_CHECK_COMPILER_CLANG
   CURL_CHECK_COMPILER_GNU_C
-  CURL_CHECK_COMPILER_SGI_MIPSPRO_C
-  CURL_CHECK_COMPILER_SGI_MIPS_C
+  case $host in
+    mips-sgi-irix*)
+      CURL_CHECK_COMPILER_SGI_MIPSPRO_C
+      CURL_CHECK_COMPILER_SGI_MIPS_C
+    ;;
+  esac
   CURL_CHECK_COMPILER_SUNPRO_C
   CURL_CHECK_COMPILER_TINY_C
   #