Workstation

A workstation is a computer used for scientific or technical calculations, or purposes.  These computers are usually expensive, high-end computers. They are different from the ordinary computers used for text-processing. Very often they have operating systems that allow several users to work at the computer at the same time. Very often, workstations are connected to a computer network. Computer terminals may be used to access them. Currently, almost all workstations use a Unix or Unix-like operating system.

Workstation computers often use a 64-bit server-class CPU such as the Intel Xeon or AMD Opteron, and some have more than one CPU. They may also have more memory than a normal desktop computer, and they often have 10000 or 15000 RPM hard drives or solid-state drives. Some workstations have devices that are not commonly used on normal desktop computers, such as ECC (error-corrected) memory, SCSI, fibre channel, and 10 gigabit Ethernet.

Some technologies that were once only found on workstations have now become common in normal PCs, such as multi-core processors, solid-state drives, hardware-accelerated graphics, 24-bit color, broadband Internet access, virtual memory, pre-emptive multitasking, and OpenCL.

Common uses for workstations include computer-aided design (CAD), 3D graphics and animation, video and audio production, weather modeling, and other simulations and scientific work.

 RISC vs x86 
Traditionally, workstations used a RISC processor, such as MIPS, PowerPC, or SPARC architecture CPUs. Most modern workstations use x86_64 processors. In 2020, however, Apple began migrating its product line from x86-64 to Apple M1, an ARM RISC CPU.

 Examples of RISC workstations 
 Silicon Graphics IRIX machines (MIPS CPU)
 Sun Microsystems SparcStation (SPARC CPU)
 Apple Power Mac G5 and PowerBook G4 (PowerPC CPU)
 Apple MacBook Pro (2021 model, ARM CPU)
 IBM IntelliStation POWER and ThinkPad Power Series (PowerPC CPU)

 Examples of modern x86_64 workstations 
 HP Z series
 Apple Mac Pro and MacBook Pro (before 2021)
 Dell Precision

Category:Computers