# Workstation

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High-end single-user computer

This article is about the type of computer. For other uses, see [Work station](/source/Work_station_(disambiguation)).

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A [NeXTcube](/source/NeXTcube) workstation, the same type on which the [World Wide Web](/source/World_Wide_Web) was created by [Tim Berners-Lee](/source/Tim_Berners-Lee) at [CERN](/source/CERN) in [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland)[1]

A **workstation** is a special [computer](/source/Computer) designed for technical or [scientific](/source/Computational_science) applications.[2] Intended primarily to be used by a single user,[2] they are commonly connected to a [local area network](/source/Local_area_network) and run [multi-user](/source/Multi-user) [operating systems](/source/Operating_system). The term *workstation* has been used loosely to refer to everything from a [mainframe computer](/source/Mainframe_computer) terminal to a [PC](/source/Personal_computer) connected to a [network](/source/Computer_network), but most commonly refers to the class of hardware offered by several current and defunct companies such as [Sun Microsystems](/source/Sun_Microsystems),[3] [Silicon Graphics](/source/Silicon_Graphics), [Apollo Computer](/source/Apollo_Computer),[4] [DEC](/source/Digital_Equipment_Corporation), [HP](/source/HP_Inc.), [NeXT](/source/NeXT), and [IBM](/source/IBM) beginning in the 1980s, and powered the [3D computer graphics](/source/3D_computer_graphics) revolution through the late 1990s.[5]

In their heyday, workstations offered higher performance specifications than mainstream [personal computers](/source/Personal_computer), especially in terms of [processing](/source/Central_processing_unit), [graphics](/source/Graphics_processing_unit), [memory](/source/Random-access_memory), and multitasking. Workstations are optimized for the [visualization](/source/Visualization_(graphics)) and manipulation of different types of complex data such as 3D mechanical design, engineering simulations like [computational fluid dynamics](/source/Computational_fluid_dynamics), [animation](/source/Computer_animation), [video editing](/source/Video_editing), [image editing](/source/Image_editing), [medical imaging](/source/Medical_imaging), image rendering, [computational science](/source/Computational_science), generating [mathematical plots](/source/Plot_(graphics)), and [software development](/source/Software_development). Typically, the [form factor](/source/Form_factor_(design)) is that of a [desktop computer](/source/Desktop_computer), which consists of a high-resolution display, a [keyboard](/source/Computer_keyboard), and a [mouse](/source/Computer_mouse) at a minimum, but also offers multiple displays, [graphics tablets](/source/Graphics_tablet), and [3D mice](/source/Computer_mouse) for manipulating objects and navigating scenes. Workstations were the first segment of the computer market[6] to present advanced accessories, and collaboration tools like [videoconferencing](/source/Videoconferencing).[5]

The increasing capabilities of mainstream PCs since the late 1990s have reduced the distinction between PCs and workstations.[7] Typical 1980s and 1990s workstations had expensive proprietary hardware and operating systems to categorically distinguish from standardized PCs; most had [RISC](/source/RISC)-based processors and ran [UNIX](/source/UNIX)-based operating systmes, but by the early 2000s, workstation offerings shifted to highly [commoditized](/source/Commoditization) hardware dominated by large PC vendors, such as [Dell](/source/Dell), [HP Inc.](/source/HP_Inc.), and [Fujitsu](/source/Fujitsu), selling [x86-64](/source/X86-64) systems running [Windows](/source/Microsoft_Windows) or [Linux](/source/Linux).

## History

Early [Xerox](/source/Xerox) workstation

[HP 9000](/source/HP_9000) model 425 workstation running [HP-UX](/source/HP-UX) 9 and [Visual User Environment](/source/Visual_User_Environment) (VUE)

[HP 9000](/source/HP_9000) model 735 running [HP-UX](/source/HP-UX) and the [Common Desktop Environment](/source/Common_Desktop_Environment) (CDE)

### Origins and development

Workstations predate the first [personal computer](/source/Personal_computer) (PC).[8] The first computer that might qualify as a workstation was the [IBM 1620](/source/IBM_1620), codenamed "CADET", a small scientific computer designed to be used interactively by a single person sitting at the console.[9] It was introduced in 1959.[10] One peculiar feature of this machine was that it lacked any arithmetic circuitry.[11] To perform addition, it required a memory-resident table of decimal addition rules.[12] This reduced the cost of [logic circuitry](/source/Logic_gate), enabling IBM to make it inexpensive. It was initially rented for $1000 per month.

In 1965, the 1620 was succeeded by the [IBM 1130](/source/IBM_1130) scientific computer.[13] Built into roughly desk-sized cabinets with console typewriters, they could be configured with optional add-on disk drives, printers, and both paper-tape and punch-card [I/O](/source/Input%2Foutput).

Early workstations were generally dedicated [minicomputers](/source/Minicomputer), a multiuser system repurposed for a single user.[8] For example, the [PDP-8](/source/PDP-8) from [Digital Equipment Corporation](/source/Digital_Equipment_Corporation) (DEC), is regarded as the first commercial minicomputer.[14]

Workstations have historically been more advanced than contemporary PCs, with more powerful CPU architectures, more advanced graphics, more memory, and multitasking with sophisticated operating systems like [Unix](/source/Unix). They typically offered networking as a standard capability, long before this became prevalent in personal computing. Because of their minicomputer heritage, workstations since their introduction have supported professional and expensive software such as [CAD](/source/Computer-aided_design) and [graphics design](/source/Graphic_design), as opposed to PCs' games and [text editors](/source/Text_editor).[8] The [Lisp machines](/source/Lisp_machine) developed at [MIT](/source/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology) in the early 1970s pioneered some workstation principles, as high-performance, networked, single-user systems intended for heavily interactive use. Lisp machines were commercialized beginning in 1980 by companies such as [Symbolics](/source/Symbolics), [Lisp Machines](/source/Lisp_Machines), [Texas Instruments](/source/Texas_Instruments) (the [TI Explorer](/source/TI_Explorer)), and [Xerox](/source/Xerox) (the [Interlisp-D](/source/Interlisp-D) workstations). The first computer designed for a single user, with high-resolution graphics (and so a workstation in the modern sense), was the [Alto](/source/Xerox_Alto) developed at [Xerox PARC](/source/Xerox_PARC) in 1973.[15] Other early workstations include the [Terak 8510/a](/source/Terak_8510%2Fa) (1977),[16] [Three Rivers PERQ](/source/Three_Rivers_PERQ) (1979), and the later [Xerox Star](/source/Xerox_Star) (1981).

### 1980s: rise in popularity

In the early 1980s, with the advent of [32-bit](/source/32-bit) [microprocessors](/source/Microprocessor) such as the [Motorola 68000](/source/Motorola_68000), several new competitors appeared, including [Apollo Computer](/source/Apollo_Computer) and [Sun Microsystems](/source/Sun_Microsystems),[17] with workstations based on the 68000 and [Unix](/source/Unix).[18][19] Meanwhile, [DARPA](/source/DARPA)'s [VLSI Project](/source/VLSI_Project) created several spinoff graphics products, such as the [Silicon Graphics 3130](/source/Silicon_Graphics#IRIS_2000_and_3000_series).[*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*] Target markets were differentiated, with Sun and Apollo considered to be network workstations and SGI as graphics workstations.[*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*] Workstation vendors began to adopt [RISC](/source/Reduced_instruction_set_computing) CPUs in the mid to late 1980s.[20] Competition among RISC vendors lowered CPU prices to as little as $10 per MIPS, much less expensive than the [Intel 80386](/source/Intel_80386);[21] after large price cuts in 1987 and 1988, a personal workstation suitable for 2D CAD costing $5,000 to $25,000 (equivalent to $13,000 to $65,000 in 2025) was available from multiple vendors. Mid-range models capable of 3D graphics cost from $35,000 to $60,000 (equivalent to $91,000 to $156,000 in 2025), while high-end models overlapping with minicomputers cost from $80,000 to $100,000 (equivalent to $208,000 to $260,000 or more.[22][23]

*[InfoWorld](/source/InfoWorld)* in 1989 described Sun as "the unquestioned leader in the workstation arena". It and other RISC workstation vendors like [Hewlett-Packard](/source/Hewlett-Packard) (HP) were very successful in luring customers from traditional minicomputer companies like DEC and [Data General](/source/Data_General) with more performance per dollar, forcing them to release their own workstations that year.[24] Apollo said that systems costing less than $15,000 (equivalent to $39,000 in 2025) were half of all workstation sales.[25] By then a $12,000 (equivalent to $31,000 in 2025) "personal workstation" might be a high-end PC like the [Macintosh II](/source/Macintosh_II) or [IBM PS/2 Model 80](/source/IBM_PS%2F2_Model_80), a low-end workstation, or a hybrid device like the [NeXT Computer](/source/NeXT_Computer),[*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*] all with similar, overlapping specifications.[8] Workstation prices were declining by 20% annually; the Apollo DN2500 cost as little as $3,990 (equivalent to $10,000 in 2025), which an industry analyst said was the "magic price point" where customers would consider workstations over PCs.[26] *BYTE* predicted "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](/source/OS%2F2), [classic Mac OS](/source/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](/source/Lotus_1-2-3) or [Microsoft Word](/source/Microsoft_Word).[8] Another differentiator between PC and workstation was that the latter was much more likely to have a [graphics accelerator](/source/Graphics_accelerator) with support for a graphics standard like [PHIGS](/source/PHIGS) or [X Window](/source/X_Window), while the former usually depended on [software rendering](/source/Software_rendering) or proprietary accelerators. The [computer animation](/source/Computer_animation) industry's needs typically caused improvements in graphical technology, with CAD using the same improvements later.[22] *BYTE* demonstrated that year that an individual could build a workstation with commodity components with specifications comparable to commercially available low-end workstations.[27]

By 1990, when IBM announced the [RS/6000](/source/RS%2F6000), workstations were the fastest-growing segment of the PC market.[28] Competition decreased prices so quickly that [Gartner Group](/source/Gartner_Group) that year advised [depreciation](/source/Depreciation) for Unix RISC systems of 45% or more annually, twice the normal rate.[29] Workstations often featured [SCSI](/source/SCSI) or [Fibre Channel](/source/Fibre_Channel) disk storage systems, high-end [3D accelerators](/source/3D_accelerator), single or multiple [64-bit](/source/64-bit) [processors](/source/Central_processing_unit),[30] large amounts of [RAM](/source/Random-access_memory), 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.

### Thin clients

Workstations diversified to the lowest possible price point as opposed to performance, called the [thin client](/source/Thin_client) or [network computer](/source/Network_computer). Dependent upon a network and server, this reduces the machine to having no [hard drive](/source/Hard_disk_drive), and only the CPU, keyboard, mouse, and screen. Some [diskless nodes](/source/Diskless_node) still run a traditional operating system and perform computations locally, with storage on a remote [server](/source/Server_(computing)).[31] These are intended to reduce the initial system purchase cost, and the [total cost of ownership](/source/Total_cost_of_ownership), by reducing the amount of administration required per user.[32]

This approach was first attempted as a replacement for PCs in office productivity applications, with the [3Station](/source/3Station) by [3Com](/source/3Com). In the 1990s, [X terminals](/source/X_terminal) filled a similar role for technical computing. Sun's [thin clients](/source/Thin_client) included the [Sun Ray](/source/Sun_Ray) product line.[33] However, purchasing and managing traditional workstations and PCs continued to drop in price and complexity as remote management tools for [IT](/source/Information_technology) staff became available, undercutting this market.

### 3M computer

Main article: [3M computer](/source/3M_computer)

A [NeXTstation](/source/NeXTstation) graphics workstation from 1990

[Sony NEWS](/source/Sony_NEWS) workstation: 2× [68030](/source/68030) at 25 MHz, 1280×1024 pixel and 256-color display

[SGI Indy](/source/SGI_Indy) graphics workstation

[SGI O2](/source/SGI_O2) graphics workstation

[HP](/source/Hewlett-Packard) C8000 workstation running [HP-UX](/source/HP-UX) 11i with [CDE](/source/Common_Desktop_Environment)

Six workstations: four HP Z620, one HP Z820, one HP Z420

In the early 1980s the aspirational target for high-end workstations was the "3M computer", as defined by [Raj Reddy](/source/Raj_Reddy): a megabyte of memory, a megapixel display (roughly 1000×1000 pixels), and one [megaFLOPS](/source/Megaflop) compute performance (at least one million floating-point operations per second).[34] This was at least one order of magnitude beyond the capacity of the personal computer of the time. The original 1981 [IBM Personal Computer](/source/IBM_Personal_Computer) had 16 KB memory, a text-only display, and floating-point performance around 1 [kFLOPS](/source/KFLOPS) (30 kFLOPS with the optional 8087 math coprocessor).

Another goal was to bring the price below one "[megapenny](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/megapenny): less than $10,000 (equivalent to $30,000 in 2025), which was achieved in the late 1980s. Throughout the early to mid-1990s, many workstations cost from $15,000 to $100,000 (equivalent to $211,000 in 2025) or more.

Other features beyond the typical personal computer of the time included networking, graphics acceleration, and high-speed internal and peripheral data buses.

### Decline

The increasing adoption of key technologies into mainstream PCs was a direct factor in the decline of the workstation as a separate market segment:[35]

- Reliable components

- High-performance [3D graphics](/source/3D_computer_graphics) hardware for [computer-aided design](/source/Computer-aided_design) (CAD) and [computer-generated imagery](/source/Computer-generated_imagery) (CGI) animation became increasingly popular in the PC market around the mid-to-late 1990s mostly driven by computer gaming, yielding the first official GPU in [Nvidia](/source/Nvidia)'s NV10 and the breakthrough [GeForce 256](/source/GeForce_256).

- High-performance [CPUs](/source/Central_processing_unit): the first [RISC](/source/Reduced_instruction_set_computer) CPUs of the early 1980s offered roughly one order of magnitude in performance improvement over [CISC](/source/Complex_instruction_set_computer) processors of comparable cost. [Intel](/source/Intel)'s [x86](/source/X86) CISC family always had the edge in market share and the [economies of scale](/source/Economies_of_scale) that this implied. By the mid-1990s, some CISC processors like the [Motorola 68040](/source/Motorola_68040) and Intel's [80486](/source/I486) and [Pentium](/source/Pentium_(original)) have performance parity with RISC in some areas, such as integer performance (at the cost of greater chip complexity) and hardware [floating-point](/source/Floating-point_arithmetic) calculations, relegating RISC to even more high-end markets.[36]

- Hardware support for floating-point operations: optional on the original IBM PC; remained on a separate chip for Intel systems until the [80486DX](/source/I486#Models) processor. Even then, x86 floating-point performance lagged other processors due to limitations in its architecture. Even low-price PCs have long offered performance in the gigaFLOPS range.

- High-performance/high-capacity data storage: early workstations tend to use proprietary disk interfaces until the SCSI standard of the mid-1980s. Although SCSI interfaces soon became available for IBM PCs, they were comparatively expensive and tend to be limited by the speed of the PC's [ISA](/source/Industry_Standard_Architecture) peripheral bus. SCSI is an advanced controller interface good for multitasking and daisy chaining. This makes it suited for use in servers, and its benefits to desktop PCs which mostly run single-user operating systems are less clear, but it was standard on the 1980s-1990s Macintosh. [Serial ATA](/source/Serial_ATA) is more modern, with throughput comparable to SCSI but at a lower cost.

- High-speed [networking](/source/Computer_network) (10 Mbit/s or better): 10 Mbit/s network interfaces were commonly available for PCs by the early 1990s, although by that time workstations were pursuing even higher networking speeds, moving to 100 Mbit/s, 1 Gbit/s, and 10 Gbit/s. However, economies of scale and the demand for high-speed networking in even non-technical areas have dramatically decreased the time it takes for newer networking technologies to reach commodity price points.

- Large displays (17- to 21-inch) with high resolutions and high refresh rates for graphics and CAD work, which were rare among PCs in the late 1980s and early 1990s but became common among PCs by the late 1990s.

- Large memory configurations: PCs (such as IBM clones) were originally limited to 640 KB of RAM until the 1982 introduction of the [80286](/source/Intel_80286) processor; early workstations had megabytes of memory. IBM clones require special programming techniques to address more than 640 KB until the 80386, as opposed to other 32-bit processors such as [SPARC](/source/SPARC) which provide straightforward access to nearly their entire 4 GB memory address range. 64-bit workstations and servers supporting an address range far beyond 4 GB have been available since the early 1990s, a technology just beginning to appear in the PC desktop and server market in the mid-2000s.

- [Operating system](/source/Operating_system): early workstations ran the [Unix](/source/Unix) operating system (OS), a [Unix-like](/source/Unix-like) variant, or other feature-rich OSes such as [VMS](/source/OpenVMS). The PC CPUs of the time had limitations in memory capacity and [memory access protection](/source/Protected_mode), making them unsuitable to run OSes of this sophistication, but this, too, began to change in the late 1980s as PCs with the [32-bit](/source/32-bit) [80386](/source/I386), with integrated paged [MMUs](/source/Memory_management_unit), became widely affordable and enabling [OS/2](/source/OS%2F2), [Windows NT 3.1](/source/Windows_NT_3.1), and Unix-like systems based on [BSD](/source/Berkeley_Software_Distribution) and [Linux](/source/Linux) on commodity PC hardware.

- Tight integration between the OS and the hardware: Workstation vendors both design the hardware and maintain the Unix operating system variant that runs on it. This allows for much more rigorous testing than is possible with an operating system such as Windows. Windows requires that third-party hardware vendors write compliant hardware drivers that are stable and reliable. Also, minor variations in hardware quality such as timing or build quality can affect the reliability of the overall machine. Workstation vendors are able to ensure both the quality of the hardware, and the stability of the operating system drivers by validating these things in-house, and this leads to a generally much more reliable and stable machine.

### Market position

[Sun Ultra 20](/source/Sun_Ultra_series) with [AMD](/source/AMD)'s [Opteron](/source/Opteron) processor and [Solaris 10](/source/Solaris_(operating_system))

Since the late 1990s, the workstation and consumer markets have further merged. Many low-end workstation components are now the same as the consumer market, and the price differential narrowed. For example, most [Macintosh Quadra](/source/Macintosh_Quadra) computers were originally intended for scientific or design work, all with the [Motorola 68040](/source/Motorola_68040) CPU, backward compatible with [68000](/source/Motorola_68000_series) Macintoshes. The consumer [Macintosh IIcx](/source/Macintosh_IIcx) and [Macintosh IIci](/source/Macintosh_IIci) models can be upgraded to the [Quadra 700](/source/Macintosh_Quadra_700). "In an era when many professionals preferred Silicon Graphics workstations, the Quadra 700 was an intriguing option at a fraction of the cost" as resource-intensive software such as [Infini-D](/source/Infini-D) brought "studio-quality 3D rendering and animations to the home desktop". The Quadra 700 can run [A/UX](/source/A%2FUX) 3.0, making it a [Unix](/source/Unix) workstation.[37] Another example is the [Nvidia](/source/Nvidia) [GeForce 256](/source/GeForce_256) consumer graphics card, which spawned the [Quadro](/source/Quadro) workstation card, which has the same GPU but different driver support and certifications for CAD applications and a much higher price.

Workstations have typically driven advancements in CPU technology. All computers benefit from multi-processor and multicore designs (essentially, multiple processors on a [die](/source/Die_(integrated_circuit))). The multicore design was pioneered by IBM's [POWER4](/source/POWER4); it and Intel Xeon have multiple CPUs, more on-die cache, and ECC memory.

Some workstations are designed or certified for use with only one specific application such as [AutoCAD](/source/AutoCAD), [Avid](/source/Avid_Technology) Xpress Studio HD, or [3D Studio Max](/source/3D_Studio_Max). The certification process increases workstation prices.

## Modern market

This [Hewlett-Packard](/source/Hewlett-Packard) Z6, an [x86-64](/source/X86-64)-based workstation, has two RTX 5000 GPUs.

### GPU workstations

Modern workstations are typically [desktop computers](/source/Desktop_computer) with [AMD](/source/List_of_AMD_graphics_processing_units) or [NVIDIA GPUs](/source/NVIDIA_GPU) to do [high-performance computing](/source/High-performance_computing) on software programs such as [video editing](/source/Video_editing_software), [3D modeling](/source/3D_modeling), [computer-aided design](/source/Computer-aided_design), and [rendering](/source/Rendering_(computer_graphics)).[38]

### Decline of RISC workstations

By January 2009, all [RISC](/source/RISC)-based workstation product lines had been discontinued:

- Hewlett-Packard withdrew its last [HP 9000](/source/HP_9000) PA-RISC-based desktop products from the market in January 2008.[39]

- IBM retired the [IntelliStation POWER](/source/IntelliStation_POWER) on January 2, 2009.[40]

- SGI ended general availability of its MIPS-based [SGI Fuel](/source/SGI_Fuel) and [SGI Tezro](/source/SGI_Tezro) workstations in December 2006.[41]

- Sun Microsystems announced end-of-life for its last [Sun Ultra](/source/Sun_Ultra) SPARC workstations in October 2008.[42]

In early 2018, RISC workstations were reintroduced in a series of [IBM](/source/IBM) [POWER9](/source/POWER9)-based systems by Raptor Computing Systems.[43][44] In October 2024, System 76 introduced the Thelio Astra, an [ARM](/source/ARM_architecture_family) workstation tailored for car software development.[45]

### x86-64

Most of the current workstation market uses x86-64 microprocessors. Operating systems include [Windows](/source/Microsoft_Windows), [FreeBSD](/source/FreeBSD), [Linux distributions](/source/Linux_distribution), [macOS](/source/MacOS), and [Solaris](/source/Oracle_Solaris).[46] Some vendors also market commodity mono-socket systems as workstations.

These are three types of workstations:

1. Workstation blade systems (IBM HC10 or Hewlett-Packard xw460c. [Sun Visualization System](/source/Sun_Visualization_System) was akin to these solutions)[47]

1. Ultra high-end workstation ([SGI Virtu](/source/SGI_Virtu) VS3xx)

1. Deskside systems containing server-class CPUs and chipsets on large server-class motherboards with high-end RAM ([HP Z-series workstations](/source/HP_Z) and [Fujitsu CELSIUS](/source/Fujitsu_Celsius) workstations)

### Definition

A high-end desktop market segment includes workstations, with PC operating systems and components. Component product lines may be segmented, with premium components that are functionally similar to the consumer models but with higher robustness or performance.[48]

A workstation-class PC may have some of the following features:

- Larger number of memory sockets which use [DIMM](/source/DIMM) slots or [registered (buffered) modules](/source/Registered_memory)[49]

- Multiple displays[49]

- Reliable high-performance [graphics card](/source/Graphics_card)[49]

- Multiple processor sockets, powerful CPUs[49]

- Run reliable operating system with advanced features[49]

- Support for [ECC memory](/source/ECC_memory)[49]

- [M.2](/source/M.2)[50] or [PCI-E](/source/PCI_Express) [NVMe](/source/NVM_Express)[51] [SSD](/source/Solid-state_drive)

## See also

- [Mobile workstation](/source/Mobile_workstation)

- [Desktop form factor](/source/Desktop_computer#Form_factor)

- [Gaming computer](/source/Gaming_computer)

- [List of computer system manufacturers](/source/List_of_computer_system_manufacturers)

- [Music workstation](/source/Music_workstation)

- [Personal supercomputer](/source/Personal_supercomputer)

- [Remote Graphics Software](/source/Remote_Graphics_Software)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Original NeXT computer used by Sir Tim Berners-Lee to design the World Wide Web - NeXT"](https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/original-next-computer-used-by-sir-tim-berners-lee-to-design-the-world-wide-web-next/6QHcxbuGnQ4rng). *Google Arts & Culture*.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_2-1) ["workstation | Definition & Facts"](https://www.britannica.com/technology/workstation), *Britannica*, retrieved 2021-12-05

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Bechtolsheim, Andreas; Baskett, Forest (1980). ["High-performance raster graphics for microcomputer systems"](https://dx.doi.org/10.1145/800250.807466). *Proceedings of the 7th annual conference on Computer graphics and interactive techniques - SIGGRAPH '80*. New York, New York, USA: ACM Press. pp. 43–47. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1145/800250.807466](https://doi.org/10.1145%2F800250.807466). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0897910214](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0897910214). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [12045240](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:12045240).

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1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-robinson198902_22-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-robinson198902_22-1) Robinson, Phillip (February 1989). ["Art + 2 Years = Science"](https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1989-02_OCR/page/n309/mode/2up?view=theater). *BYTE*. pp. 255–264. Retrieved 2024-10-08.

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1. **[^](#cite_ref-hpprofessional19891010_lowcost_25-0)** Sharp, Bill (10 October 1989). ["Low-End Workstation Market"](https://archive.org/details/HP-Professional_Vol._03_No._10_Oct_1989/page/42/mode/2up). *HP Professional*. pp. 42–44, 46. Retrieved 5 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-computerworld19890925_workstations_26-0)** Alexander, Michael (25 September 1989). ["PC, workstation firms prepare for price war"](https://archive.org/details/computerworld2339unse/page/4/mode/1up). *Computerworld*. p. 4. Retrieved 5 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-nicholls198902_27-0)** Nicholls, Bill (February 1989). ["The Current Crop"](https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1989-02_OCR/page/n290/mode/1up?view=theater). *BYTE*. pp. 235–244. Retrieved 2024-10-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-iw19900219_28-0)** ["IBM's Born-Again Workstation Line Will Exorcise RT Ghost, Users Say"](https://books.google.com/books?id=gTAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1). *InfoWorld*. Vol. 12, no. 8. 1990-02-19. pp. 1, 101. Retrieved 2025-06-28.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-computerworld19900409_dec_29-0)** Johnson, Maryfran (9 April 1990). ["DEC plugs up workstation gaps"](https://archive.org/details/computerworld2415unse/page/4/mode/1up). *Computerworld*. p. 4. Retrieved 14 November 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-30)** [*New Straits Times*](https://books.google.com/books?id=RJ1OAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Workstation%22&pg=PA45&article_id=5472,2450145). New Straits Times.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-31)** Conrad, Eric; Misenar, Seth; Feldman, Joshua (2012). [*CISSP Study Guide*](https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/b978-1-59749-961-3.00003-0). Elsevier. pp. 63–141. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/b978-1-59749-961-3.00003-0](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fb978-1-59749-961-3.00003-0). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781597499613](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781597499613). Retrieved 2022-03-18.

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1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_49-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_49-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:1_49-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:1_49-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:1_49-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-:1_49-5) Bushong, Stewart C.; Clarke, Geoffrey (2013-08-07). [*Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Physical and Biological Principles*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Xe9OAQAAQBAJ&dq=A+workstation-class+PC+may+have+some+of+the+following+features%3A+Larger+number+of+memory+sockets+which+use+registered+%28buffered%29+modules+Multiple+displays+Reliable+high-performance+graphics+card+Multiple+processor+sockets%2C+powerful+CPUs+Run+reliable+operating+system+with+advanced+features+Support+for+ECC+memory&pg=PA122). Elsevier Health Sciences. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-323-27765-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-323-27765-5).

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## External links

- Media related to [Workstations](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Workstations) at Wikimedia Commons

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Workstation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workstation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workstation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.