Editing Workstation (section)

===1980s rise in popularity===
{{See also|Silicon Graphics Inc|NeXT|Apollo Computer|Digital Equipment Corporation|IBM RT PC}}
In the early 1980s, with the advent of [[32-bit]] [[microprocessor]]s such as the [[Motorola 68000]], several new competitors appeared, including [[Apollo Computer]] and [[Sun Microsystems]],<ref>{{cite web |date=2013-02-11 |title=The Death Of The Workstation? - INFOtainment News |work=INFOtainment News |url=https://infotainmentnews.net/the-death-of-the-workstation/ |access-date=2022-03-19 |language=en-US}}</ref> with workstations based on 68000 and [[Unix]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The SUN workstation architecture |url=http://i.stanford.edu/pub/cstr/reports/csl/tr/82/229/CSL-TR-82-229.pdf |access-date=15 March 2022 |website=Stanford University}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Apollo Domain DN100 workstation - CHM Revolution |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/computer-graphics-music-and-art/15/217/605 |access-date=2022-03-10 |website=www.computer history.org}}</ref> Meanwhile, [[DARPA]]'s [[VLSI Project]] created several spinoff graphics products, such as the [[Silicon Graphics]] [[Silicon Graphics#IRIS 2000 and 3000 series|3130]]. Target markets were differentiated, with Sun and Apollo considered to be network workstations and SGI as graphics workstations. [[Reduced instruction set computing|RISC]] CPUs increased in the mid-1980s, typical of workstation vendors.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Funding a revolution : government support for computing research |date=1999 |publisher=National Academy Press |isbn=0-585-14273-4 |location=Washington, D.C. |oclc=44965252}}</ref> Competition between RISC vendors lowered CPU prices to as little as $10 per MIPS, much less expensive than the [[Intel 80386]];<ref name="byte198902">{{Cite magazine |last1=Marshall |first1=Trevor |last2=Tazelaar |first2=Jane Morrill |date=February 1989 |title=Worth the RISC |url=https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1989-02_OCR/page/n299/mode/2up?view=theater |access-date=2024-10-08 |magazine=BYTE |pages=245–249}}</ref> after large price cuts in 1987 and 1988, a personal workstation suitable for 2D CAD costing {{US$|long=no|5000|1989|about|round=-3}} to {{US$|long=no|25000|1989|about|round=-3}} was available from multiple vendors. Mid-range models capable of 3D graphics cost from {{US$|long=no|35000|1989|about|round=-3}} to {{US$|long=no|60000|1989|about|round=-3}}, while high-end models overlapping with minicomputers cost from {{US$|long=no|80000|1989|about|round=-3}} to {{US$|long=no|100000|1989|about|round=-3}} or more.<ref name="robinson198902">{{Cite magazine |last=Robinson |first=Phillip |date=February 1989 |title=Art + 2 Years = Science |url=https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1989-02_OCR/page/n309/mode/2up?view=theater |access-date=2024-10-08 |magazine=BYTE |pages=255–264}}</ref>

By then a {{US$|long=no|12000|1989|about|round=-3}} "personal workstation" might be a high-end PC like [[Macintosh II]] or [[IBM PS/2 Model 80]], low-end workstation, or a hybrid device like the [[NeXT Computer]], all with similar, overlapping specifications.{{r|baran198902}} One differentiator between PC and workstation was that the latter was much more likely to have a [[graphics accelerator]] with support for a graphics standard like [[PHIGS]] or [[X Window]], while the former usually depended on [[software rendering]] or proprietary accelerators. The [[computer animation]] industry's needs typically caused improvements in graphical technology, with CAD using the same improvements later.{{r|robinson198902}} ''BYTE'' predicted in 1989 "Soon, the only way we'll be able to tell the difference between traditional workstations and PCs will be by the operating system they run", with the former running Unix and the latter running [[OS/2]], [[classic Mac OS]], and/or Unix. Many workstations by then had some method to run increasingly popular and powerful PC software such as [[Lotus 1-2-3]] or [[Microsoft Word]].{{r|baran198902}} The magazine demonstrated that year that an individual could build a workstation with commodity components with specifications comparable to commercially available low-end workstations.<ref name="nicholls198902">{{Cite magazine |last=Nicholls |first=Bill |date=February 1989 |title=The Current Crop |url=https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1989-02_OCR/page/n290/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=2024-10-08 |magazine=BYTE |pages=235–244}}</ref>

Workstations often featured [[SCSI]] or [[Fibre Channel]] disk storage systems, high-end [[3D accelerator]]s, single or multiple [[64-bit]] [[central processing unit|processors]],<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RJ1OAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Workstation%22&pg=PA45&article_id=5472,2450145 |title=New Straits Times |publisher=New Straits Times |language=en}}</ref> large amounts of [[Random-access memory|RAM]], and well-designed cooling.  Additionally, the companies that make the products tend to have comprehensive repair/replacement plans.  As the distinction between workstation and PC fades, however, workstation manufacturers have increasingly employed "off-the-shelf" PC components and graphics solutions rather than proprietary hardware or software. Some "low-cost" workstations are still expensive by PC standards but offer binary compatibility with higher-end workstations and servers made by the same vendor. This allows software development to take place on low-cost (relative to the server) desktop machines.