<s>
A	O
workstation	B-Device
is	O
a	O
special	O
computer	O
designed	O
for	O
technical	O
or	O
scientific	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Intended	O
primarily	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
a	O
single	B-Operating_System
user	I-Operating_System
,	O
they	O
are	O
commonly	O
connected	O
to	O
a	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
and	O
run	O
multi-user	B-Operating_System
operating	I-Operating_System
systems	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
workstation	B-Device
has	O
been	O
used	O
loosely	O
to	O
refer	O
to	O
everything	O
from	O
a	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computer	I-Architecture
terminal	O
to	O
a	O
PC	B-Device
connected	O
to	O
a	O
network	B-Architecture
,	O
but	O
the	O
most	O
common	O
form	O
refers	O
to	O
the	O
class	O
of	O
hardware	O
offered	O
by	O
several	O
current	O
and	O
defunct	O
companies	O
such	O
as	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
,	O
Silicon	O
Graphics	B-Architecture
,	O
Apollo	O
Computer	O
,	O
DEC	O
,	O
HP	O
,	O
NeXT	O
,	O
and	O
IBM	O
which	O
powered	O
the	O
3D	O
computer	O
graphics	B-Architecture
revolution	O
of	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Workstations	B-Device
formerly	O
offered	O
higher	O
performance	O
than	O
mainstream	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
especially	O
in	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
,	O
graphics	B-Architecture
,	O
memory	O
,	O
and	O
multitasking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Workstations	B-Device
are	O
optimized	O
for	O
the	O
visualization	B-Application
and	O
manipulation	O
of	O
different	O
types	O
of	O
complex	O
data	O
such	O
as	O
3D	O
mechanical	O
design	O
,	O
engineering	O
simulations	O
like	O
computational	O
fluid	O
dynamics	O
,	O
animation	O
,	O
medical	B-Application
imaging	I-Application
,	O
image	O
rendering	O
,	O
and	O
mathematical	O
plots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
the	O
form	O
factor	O
is	O
that	O
of	O
a	O
desktop	B-Device
computer	I-Device
,	O
which	O
consists	O
of	O
a	O
high-resolution	O
display	O
,	O
a	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
and	O
a	O
mouse	B-Device
at	O
a	O
minimum	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
offers	O
multiple	O
displays	O
,	O
graphics	B-Device
tablets	I-Device
,	O
and	O
3D	B-Device
mice	I-Device
for	O
manipulating	O
objects	O
and	O
navigating	O
scenes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Workstations	B-Device
were	O
the	O
first	O
segment	O
of	O
the	O
computer	O
market	O
to	O
present	O
advanced	O
accessories	O
,	O
and	O
collaboration	O
tools	O
like	O
videoconferencing	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
increasing	O
capabilities	O
of	O
mainstream	O
PCs	B-Device
since	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
have	O
reduced	O
distinction	O
between	O
the	O
PCs	B-Device
and	O
workstations	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typical	O
1980s	O
workstations	B-Device
have	O
expensive	O
proprietary	O
hardware	O
and	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
to	O
categorically	O
distinguish	O
from	O
standardized	O
PCs	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
the	O
1990s	O
and	O
2000s	O
,	O
IBM	O
's	O
RS/6000	B-Device
and	O
IntelliStation	B-Device
have	O
RISC-based	B-Architecture
POWER	B-Device
CPUs	B-General_Concept
running	O
AIX	B-Application
,	O
and	O
its	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
Series	I-Device
and	O
Aptiva	O
corporate	O
and	O
consumer	O
PCs	B-Device
have	O
Intel	B-Operating_System
x86	I-Operating_System
CPUs	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
by	O
the	O
early	O
2000s	O
,	O
this	O
difference	O
largely	O
disappeared	O
,	O
since	O
workstations	B-Device
use	O
highly	O
commoditized	O
hardware	O
dominated	O
by	O
large	O
PC	B-Device
vendors	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Dell	O
,	O
Hewlett-Packard	O
,	O
and	O
Fujitsu	O
,	O
selling	O
x86-64	B-Device
systems	O
running	O
Windows	B-Application
or	O
Linux	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Perhaps	O
the	O
first	O
computer	O
that	O
might	O
qualify	O
as	O
a	O
workstation	B-Device
is	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
1620	I-Device
,	O
a	O
small	O
scientific	O
computer	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
interactively	O
by	O
a	O
single	O
person	O
sitting	O
at	O
the	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1965	O
,	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
1130	I-Device
scientific	O
computer	O
became	O
the	O
successor	O
to	O
1620	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
of	O
these	O
systems	O
run	O
Fortran	B-Application
and	O
other	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
workstations	B-Device
are	O
generally	O
dedicated	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
,	O
a	O
multiuser	B-Operating_System
system	O
reserved	O
for	O
one	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
PDP-8	B-Device
from	O
Digital	O
Equipment	O
Corporation	O
,	O
is	O
regarded	O
as	O
the	O
first	O
commercial	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Lisp	B-Operating_System
machines	I-Operating_System
developed	O
at	O
MIT	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1970s	O
pioneered	O
some	O
workstation	B-Device
principles	O
,	O
as	O
high-performance	O
,	O
networked	O
,	O
single-user	B-Operating_System
systems	O
intended	O
for	O
heavily	O
interactive	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lisp	B-Operating_System
Machines	I-Operating_System
were	O
commercialized	O
beginning	O
1980	O
by	O
companies	O
like	O
Symbolics	O
,	O
Lisp	B-Operating_System
Machines	I-Operating_System
,	O
Texas	O
Instruments	O
(	O
the	O
TI	B-Language
Explorer	I-Language
)	O
and	O
Xerox	O
(	O
the	O
Interlisp-D	B-Language
workstations	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
computer	O
designed	O
for	O
a	O
single	B-Operating_System
user	I-Operating_System
,	O
with	O
high-resolution	O
graphics	B-Architecture
(	O
and	O
so	O
a	O
workstation	B-Device
in	O
the	O
modern	O
sense	O
of	O
the	O
term	O
)	O
,	O
is	O
the	O
Alto	B-Device
developed	O
at	O
Xerox	O
PARC	O
in	O
1973	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
early	O
workstations	B-Device
include	O
the	O
Terak	B-Device
8510/a	I-Device
(	O
1977	O
)	O
,	O
Three	B-Device
Rivers	I-Device
PERQ	I-Device
(	O
1979	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
later	O
Xerox	B-Operating_System
Star	I-Operating_System
(	O
1981	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
32-bit	O
microprocessors	B-Architecture
such	O
as	O
the	O
Motorola	B-Device
68000	I-Device
,	O
several	O
new	O
competitors	O
appeared	O
,	O
including	O
Apollo	O
Computer	O
and	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
,	O
with	O
workstations	B-Device
based	O
on	O
68000	B-Device
and	O
Unix	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meanwhile	O
,	O
DARPA	O
's	O
VLSI	O
Project	O
created	O
several	O
spinoff	O
graphics	B-Architecture
products	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Silicon	O
Graphics	B-Architecture
3130	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Target	O
markets	O
were	O
differentiated	O
,	O
with	O
Sun	O
and	O
Apollo	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
network	B-Architecture
workstations	B-Device
and	O
SGI	O
as	O
graphics	B-Architecture
workstations	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
RISC	B-Architecture
CPUs	B-General_Concept
increased	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
,	O
typical	O
of	O
workstation	B-Device
vendors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Workstations	B-Device
often	O
feature	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
or	O
Fibre	B-Architecture
Channel	I-Architecture
disk	O
storage	O
systems	O
,	O
high-end	O
3D	B-Architecture
accelerators	I-Architecture
,	O
single	O
or	O
multiple	O
64-bit	B-Device
processors	I-Device
,	O
large	O
amounts	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
well-designed	O
cooling	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
distinction	O
between	O
workstation	B-Device
and	O
PC	B-Device
fades	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
workstation	B-Device
manufacturers	O
have	O
increasingly	O
employed	O
"	O
off-the-shelf	O
"	O
PC	B-Device
components	O
and	O
graphics	B-Architecture
solutions	O
rather	O
than	O
proprietary	O
hardware	O
or	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
"	O
low-cost	O
"	O
workstations	B-Device
are	O
still	O
expensive	O
by	O
PC	B-Device
standards	O
but	O
offer	O
binary	O
compatibility	O
with	O
higher-end	O
workstations	B-Device
and	O
servers	O
made	O
by	O
the	O
same	O
vendor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
software	O
development	O
to	O
take	O
place	O
on	O
low-cost	O
(	O
relative	O
to	O
the	O
server	B-Application
)	O
desktop	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Workstations	B-Device
diversified	O
to	O
the	O
lowest	O
possible	O
price	O
point	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
performance	O
,	O
called	O
the	O
thin	B-Device
client	I-Device
or	O
network	B-Device
computer	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dependent	O
upon	O
a	O
network	B-Architecture
and	O
server	B-Application
,	O
this	O
reduces	O
the	O
machine	O
to	O
having	O
no	O
hard	O
drive	O
,	O
and	O
only	O
the	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
,	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
mouse	B-Device
,	O
and	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
diskless	B-Device
nodes	I-Device
still	O
run	O
a	O
traditional	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
and	O
perform	O
computations	O
locally	O
,	O
with	O
storage	O
on	O
a	O
remote	O
server	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
approach	O
was	O
first	O
attempted	O
as	O
a	O
replacement	O
for	O
PCs	B-Device
in	O
office	O
productivity	O
applications	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
3Station	B-Device
by	O
3Com	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
X	B-Protocol
terminals	I-Protocol
filled	O
a	O
similar	O
role	O
for	O
technical	O
computing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sun	O
's	O
thin	B-Device
clients	I-Device
include	O
the	O
Sun	B-Protocol
Ray	I-Protocol
product	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
traditional	O
workstations	B-Device
and	O
PCs	B-Device
continued	O
to	O
drop	O
in	O
price	O
and	O
complexity	O
,	O
undercutting	O
this	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
high-end	O
workstation	B-Device
of	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
with	O
the	O
three	O
Ms	O
,	O
or	O
a	O
"	O
3M	O
computer	O
"	O
(	O
coined	O
by	O
Raj	O
Reddy	O
and	O
his	O
colleagues	O
at	O
CMU	O
)	O
,	O
has	O
one	O
megabyte	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
a	O
megapixel	O
display	O
(	O
roughly	O
1000×1000	O
pixels	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
one	O
"	O
MegaFLOPS	O
"	O
compute	O
performance	O
(	O
at	O
least	O
one	O
million	O
floating-point	B-Algorithm
operations	O
per	O
second	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RFC	O
782	O
defines	O
the	O
workstation	B-Device
environment	O
more	O
generally	O
as	O
"	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
dedicated	O
to	O
serve	O
a	O
single	B-Operating_System
user	I-Operating_System
"	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
it	O
provisions	O
additional	O
shared	O
resources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
at	O
least	O
one	O
order	O
of	O
magnitude	O
beyond	O
the	O
capacity	O
of	O
the	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
of	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
1981	O
IBM	B-Device
Personal	I-Device
Computer	I-Device
has	O
16	O
KB	O
memory	O
,	O
a	O
text-only	O
display	O
,	O
and	O
floating-point	B-Algorithm
performance	O
around	O
(	O
with	O
the	O
optional	O
8087	O
math	O
coprocessor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
features	O
beyond	O
the	O
typical	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
include	O
networking	B-Architecture
,	O
graphics	B-Architecture
acceleration	I-Architecture
,	O
and	O
high-speed	O
internal	O
and	O
peripheral	O
data	O
buses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Throughout	O
the	O
early	O
to	O
mid-1990s	O
,	O
many	O
workstations	B-Device
cost	O
from	O
to	O
or	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
more	O
widespread	O
adoption	O
of	O
these	O
technologies	O
into	O
mainstream	O
PCs	B-Device
was	O
a	O
direct	O
factor	O
in	O
the	O
decline	O
of	O
the	O
workstation	B-Device
as	O
a	O
separate	O
market	O
segment	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Extremely	O
reliable	O
components	O
:	O
together	O
with	O
multiple	O
CPUs	B-General_Concept
with	O
greater	O
cache	O
and	O
error-correcting	O
memory	O
,	O
this	O
may	O
remain	O
the	O
distinguishing	O
feature	O
of	O
a	O
workstation	B-Device
today	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
most	O
technologies	O
implemented	O
in	O
modern	O
workstations	B-Device
are	O
also	O
available	O
at	O
a	O
lower	O
cost	O
for	O
the	O
consumer	O
market	O
,	O
finding	O
good	O
components	O
and	O
making	O
sure	O
they	O
work	O
compatibly	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
is	O
a	O
great	O
challenge	O
in	O
workstation	B-Device
building	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
workstations	B-Device
are	O
designed	O
for	O
high-end	O
tasks	O
such	O
as	O
weather	O
forecasting	O
,	O
video	O
rendering	O
,	O
and	O
game	O
design	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
taken	O
for	O
granted	O
that	O
these	O
systems	O
must	O
be	O
running	O
under	O
full	O
load	O
,	O
non-stop	O
for	O
several	O
hours	O
or	O
even	O
days	O
without	O
issue	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Any	O
off-the-shelf	O
components	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
build	O
a	O
workstation	B-Device
,	O
but	O
the	O
reliability	O
of	O
such	O
components	O
under	O
such	O
rigorous	O
conditions	O
is	O
uncertain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
this	O
reason	O
,	O
almost	O
no	O
workstations	B-Device
are	O
built	O
by	O
the	O
customer	O
themselves	O
but	O
rather	O
purchased	O
from	O
a	O
vendor	O
such	O
as	O
Hewlett-Packard	O
/	O
HP	O
Inc.	O
,	O
Fujitsu	O
,	O
IBM	O
,	O
Lenovo	O
,	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
,	O
SGI	O
,	O
Apple	O
,	O
or	O
Dell	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
High-performance	O
3D	O
graphics	B-Architecture
hardware	O
for	O
computer-aided	O
design	O
(	O
CAD	O
)	O
and	O
computer-generated	O
imagery	O
(	O
CGI	O
)	O
animation	O
is	O
increasingly	O
popular	O
in	O
the	O
PC	B-Device
market	O
around	O
the	O
mid-to-late	O
1990s	O
mostly	O
driven	O
by	O
computer	O
gaming	O
,	O
yielding	O
the	O
first	O
official	O
GPU	B-Architecture
in	O
Nvidia	O
's	O
NV10	B-Device
and	O
the	O
breakthrough	O
GeForce	B-Device
256	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
High-performance	O
CPUs	B-General_Concept
:	O
the	O
first	O
RISC	B-Architecture
of	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
offer	O
roughly	O
one	O
order	O
of	O
magnitude	O
in	O
performance	O
improvement	O
over	O
CISC	B-Architecture
processors	I-Architecture
of	O
comparable	O
cost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Intel	O
's	O
x86	B-Operating_System
CISC	B-Architecture
family	O
always	O
had	O
the	O
edge	O
in	O
market	O
share	O
and	O
the	O
economies	O
of	O
scale	O
that	O
this	O
implied	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
mid-1990s	O
,	O
some	O
CISC	B-Architecture
processors	I-Architecture
like	O
the	O
Motorola	B-Device
68040	I-Device
and	O
Intel	O
's	O
80486	B-General_Concept
and	O
Pentium	B-General_Concept
have	O
performance	O
parity	O
with	O
RISC	B-Architecture
in	O
some	O
areas	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
integer	O
performance	O
(	O
at	O
the	O
cost	O
of	O
greater	O
chip	O
complexity	O
)	O
and	O
hardware	O
floating-point	B-Algorithm
calculations	O
,	O
relegating	O
RISC	B-Architecture
to	O
even	O
more	O
high-end	O
markets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hardware	O
support	O
for	O
floating-point	B-Algorithm
operations	O
:	O
optional	O
on	O
the	O
original	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
;	O
remained	O
on	O
a	O
separate	O
chip	O
for	O
Intel	O
systems	O
until	O
the	O
80486DX	B-General_Concept
processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
then	O
,	O
x86	B-Operating_System
floating-point	B-Algorithm
performance	O
lags	O
other	O
processors	B-General_Concept
due	O
to	O
limitations	O
in	O
its	O
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
even	O
low-price	O
PCs	B-Device
now	O
have	O
performance	O
in	O
the	O
gigaFLOPS	O
range	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
High-performance/high	O
-capacity	O
data	O
storage	O
:	O
early	O
workstations	B-Device
tend	O
to	O
use	O
proprietary	O
disk	O
interfaces	O
until	O
the	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
standard	O
of	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
interfaces	O
soon	O
became	O
available	O
for	O
IBM	B-Device
PCs	I-Device
,	O
they	O
were	O
comparatively	O
expensive	O
and	O
tend	O
to	O
be	O
limited	O
by	O
the	O
speed	O
of	O
the	O
PC	B-Device
's	O
ISA	B-Architecture
peripheral	O
bus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SCSI	B-Architecture
is	O
an	O
advanced	O
controller	O
interface	O
good	O
for	O
multitasking	O
and	O
daisy	O
chaining	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
makes	O
it	O
suited	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
servers	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
benefits	O
to	O
desktop	B-Device
PCs	I-Device
which	O
mostly	O
run	O
single-user	B-Operating_System
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
are	O
less	O
clear	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
is	O
standard	O
on	O
the	O
1980s-1990s	O
Macintosh	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Serial	O
ATA	O
is	O
more	O
modern	O
,	O
with	O
throughput	O
comparable	O
to	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
but	O
at	O
a	O
lower	O
cost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
High-speed	O
networking	B-Architecture
(	O
10Mbit/s	O
or	O
better	O
)	O
:	O
10Mbit/s	O
network	B-Architecture
interfaces	O
were	O
commonly	O
available	O
for	O
PCs	B-Device
by	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
,	O
although	O
by	O
that	O
time	O
workstations	B-Device
were	O
pursuing	O
even	O
higher	O
networking	B-Architecture
speeds	O
,	O
moving	O
to	O
100Mbit/s	O
,	O
1Gbit/s	O
,	O
and	O
10Gbit/s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
economies	O
of	O
scale	O
and	O
the	O
demand	O
for	O
high-speed	O
networking	B-Architecture
in	O
even	O
non-technical	O
areas	O
have	O
dramatically	O
decreased	O
the	O
time	O
it	O
takes	O
for	O
newer	O
networking	B-Architecture
technologies	O
to	O
reach	O
commodity	O
price	O
points	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Large	O
displays	O
(	O
17	O
-	O
to	O
21-inch	O
)	O
with	O
high	O
resolutions	O
and	O
high	O
refresh	O
rate	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
rare	O
among	O
PCs	B-Device
in	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
and	O
early	O
1990s	O
but	O
became	O
common	O
among	O
PCs	B-Device
by	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Large	O
memory	O
configurations	O
:	O
PCs	B-Device
(	O
such	O
as	O
IBM	O
clones	O
)	O
are	O
originally	O
limited	O
to	O
640	O
KB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
until	O
the	O
1982	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
80286	B-General_Concept
processor	O
;	O
early	O
workstations	B-Device
have	O
megabytes	O
of	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
clones	O
require	O
special	O
programming	O
techniques	O
to	O
address	O
more	O
than	O
640	O
KB	O
until	O
the	O
80386	B-General_Concept
,	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
other	O
32-bit	O
processors	B-General_Concept
such	O
as	O
SPARC	B-Architecture
which	O
provide	O
straightforward	O
access	O
to	O
nearly	O
their	O
entire	O
4	O
GB	O
memory	O
address	O
range	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
64-bit	B-Device
workstations	B-Device
and	O
servers	O
supporting	O
an	O
address	O
range	O
far	O
beyond	O
4	O
GB	O
have	O
been	O
available	O
since	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
,	O
a	O
technology	O
just	O
beginning	O
to	O
appear	O
in	O
the	O
PC	B-Device
desktop	O
and	O
server	B-Application
market	O
in	O
the	O
mid-2000s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
:	O
early	O
workstations	B-Device
ran	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
(	O
OS	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
Unix-like	B-Operating_System
variant	O
,	O
or	O
an	O
unrelated	O
equivalent	O
OS	O
such	O
as	O
VMS	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC	B-Device
CPUs	B-General_Concept
of	O
the	O
time	O
have	O
limitations	O
in	O
memory	O
capacity	O
and	O
memory	B-Application
access	I-Application
protection	I-Application
,	O
making	O
them	O
unsuitable	O
to	O
run	O
OSes	O
of	O
this	O
sophistication	O
,	O
but	O
this	O
,	O
too	O
,	O
began	O
to	O
change	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
as	O
PCs	B-Device
with	O
the	O
32-bit	O
80386	B-General_Concept
with	O
integrated	O
paged	O
MMUs	B-General_Concept
became	O
widely	O
affordable	O
and	O
enabling	O
OS/2	B-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
3.1	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tight	O
integration	O
between	O
the	O
OS	O
and	O
the	O
hardware	O
:	O
Workstation	B-Device
vendors	O
both	O
design	O
the	O
hardware	O
and	O
maintain	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
variant	O
that	O
runs	O
on	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
for	O
much	O
more	O
rigorous	O
testing	O
than	O
is	O
possible	O
with	O
an	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
such	O
as	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
requires	O
that	O
third-party	O
hardware	O
vendors	O
write	O
compliant	O
hardware	O
drivers	O
that	O
are	O
stable	O
and	O
reliable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Workstation	B-Device
vendors	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
ensure	O
both	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
the	O
hardware	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
stability	O
of	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
drivers	O
by	O
validating	O
these	O
things	O
in-house	O
,	O
and	O
this	O
leads	O
to	O
a	O
generally	O
much	O
more	O
reliable	O
and	O
stable	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
,	O
the	O
workstation	B-Device
and	O
consumer	O
markets	O
have	O
further	O
merged	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
low-end	O
workstation	B-Device
components	O
are	O
now	O
the	O
same	O
as	O
the	O
consumer	O
market	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
price	O
differential	O
narrowed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
most	O
Macintosh	B-Device
Quadra	I-Device
computers	O
were	O
originally	O
intended	O
for	O
scientific	O
or	O
design	O
work	O
,	O
all	O
with	O
the	O
Motorola	B-Device
68040	I-Device
CPU	B-General_Concept
,	O
backward	O
compatible	O
with	O
68000	B-Device
Macintoshes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
consumer	O
Macintosh	B-Device
IIcx	I-Device
and	O
Macintosh	B-Device
IIci	I-Device
models	O
can	O
be	O
upgraded	O
to	O
the	O
Quadra	B-Device
700	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
In	O
an	O
era	O
when	O
many	O
professionals	O
preferred	O
Silicon	O
Graphics	B-Architecture
workstations	B-Device
,	O
the	O
Quadra	B-Device
700	I-Device
was	O
an	O
intriguing	O
option	O
at	O
a	O
fraction	O
of	O
the	O
cost	O
"	O
as	O
resource-intensive	O
software	O
such	O
as	O
Infini-D	B-Application
brought	O
"	O
studio-quality	O
3D	O
rendering	O
and	O
animations	O
to	O
the	O
home	O
desktop	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Quadra	B-Device
700	I-Device
can	O
run	O
A/UX	B-Operating_System
3.0	I-Operating_System
,	O
making	O
it	O
a	O
Unix	B-Device
workstation	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
example	O
is	O
the	O
Nvidia	O
GeForce	B-Device
256	I-Device
consumer	O
graphics	B-Architecture
card	O
,	O
which	O
spawned	O
the	O
Quadro	B-Application
workstation	B-Device
card	O
,	O
which	O
has	O
the	O
same	O
GPU	B-Architecture
but	O
different	O
driver	O
support	O
and	O
certifications	O
for	O
CAD	O
applications	O
and	O
a	O
much	O
higher	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Workstations	B-Device
have	O
typically	O
driven	O
advancements	O
in	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
computers	O
benefit	O
from	O
multi-processor	O
and	O
multicore	O
designs	O
(	O
essentially	O
,	O
multiple	O
processors	B-General_Concept
on	O
a	O
die	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
multicore	O
design	O
was	O
pioneered	O
by	O
IBM	O
's	O
POWER4	B-Device
;	O
it	O
and	O
Intel	B-Device
Xeon	I-Device
have	O
multiple	O
CPUs	B-General_Concept
,	O
more	O
on-die	O
cache	O
,	O
and	O
ECC	B-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
workstations	B-Device
are	O
designed	O
or	O
certified	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
only	O
one	O
specific	O
application	O
such	O
as	O
AutoCAD	B-Algorithm
,	O
Avid	O
Xpress	O
Studio	O
HD	O
,	O
or	O
3D	B-Language
Studio	I-Language
Max	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
certification	O
process	O
increases	O
workstation	B-Device
prices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
January	O
2009	O
,	O
all	O
RISC-based	B-Architecture
workstation	B-Device
product	O
lines	O
had	O
been	O
discontinued	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Hewlett-Packard	O
withdrew	O
its	O
last	O
HP	B-Device
9000	I-Device
PA-RISC-based	O
desktop	O
products	O
from	O
the	O
market	O
in	O
January	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
retired	O
the	O
IntelliStation	B-Device
POWER	B-Device
on	O
January	O
2	O
,	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SGI	O
ended	O
general	O
availability	O
of	O
its	O
MIPS-based	O
SGI	B-Device
Fuel	I-Device
and	O
SGI	B-Device
Tezro	I-Device
workstations	B-Device
in	O
December	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
announced	O
end-of-life	O
for	O
its	O
last	O
Sun	B-Device
Ultra	I-Device
SPARC	B-Architecture
workstations	B-Device
in	O
October	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
2018	O
,	O
RISC	B-Architecture
workstations	B-Device
were	O
reintroduced	O
in	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
IBM	O
POWER9-based	O
systems	O
by	O
Raptor	O
Computing	O
Systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Mac	B-Device
transition	I-Device
to	I-Device
Apple	I-Device
silicon	I-Device
greatly	O
increased	O
performance	O
,	O
power	B-Device
efficiency	O
,	O
and	O
size	O
efficiency	O
over	O
x86-64	B-Device
with	O
its	O
ARM-based	O
RISC	B-Architecture
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
the	O
current	O
workstation	B-Device
market	O
uses	O
x86-64	B-Device
microprocessors	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
include	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
FreeBSD	B-Operating_System
,	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	I-Application
,	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Solaris	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
vendors	O
also	O
market	O
commodity	O
mono-socket	O
systems	O
as	O
workstations	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
are	O
three	O
types	O
of	O
workstations	B-Device
:	O
</s>
<s>
Workstation	B-Device
blade	O
systems	O
(	O
IBM	O
HC10	O
or	O
Hewlett-Packard	O
xw460c	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
high-end	O
desktop	O
market	O
segment	O
includes	O
workstations	B-Device
,	O
with	O
PC	B-Device
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
and	O
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
workstation-class	O
PC	B-Device
may	O
have	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
following	O
features	O
:	O
</s>
