That's exactly what I was saying. It wouldn't be synonymous otherwise in reference to desktop computers. I'm not saying that laptops sitting on a desk and a desktop computer sitting on a desk are the same if that's what you're referencing.

On desktops, it would be naive to state they're equal. Are they of the same classification (i.e. desktop vs workstation)? Yes. Are they equal? They are not unless they have the exact same specs and even then there are minute differences.

I'm suggesting that "workstation" is different to "desktop". "desktop" could be the best way to describe the "form factor" by which I mean it sits on a desk. However, I see a definite difference between a $200 desktop and a workstation with a few Quadras in it and I think there's a valid reason for making a distinction.
Have we lost the term "workstation"?
Sorry I know I am arguing but I am interested how these things are perceived and I appreciate your thoughts.

Hi,

It's in the eye of the beholder! Semantics along with miss-used Tech-speak.

Personally, I have used what was classed as a Workstation that was in a multiple system environment designed to provide necessary applications within our professional class.

To date I feel the interchange of the terms can be miss-used even in a casual sense. Employers can class a cubical with a simple Desktop as a Workstation. Yet this would not be equivalent to a professional Workstation that has been designed to work high end applications.

Tech buzz words are constantly used correctly and incorrectly by many. Most do not realize the actual use of the terms, just parroting a phrase.

I find that this Workstation with Slackware installed provides me with work opportunities that do provide the means to class it officially as a 'Workstation', even though this computer is also classed as a Laptop.

In my LAB there are several test bed Workstations on multiple benches that have been built from necessary components to provide the support for my clients. Both from a admin and design perspective.

BTW, my Workstations dual boot MS Windows & Slackware Gnu/Linux to provide client support.

This post and many others have been composed from my customized Dell XPS Workstation. Best Laptop that I have ever purchased for my Workstation.

Thanks onebuck -- I'd forgotten about laptops as "workstations".
I see I have been, perhaps, arguing instead of listening and I apologise to sag47.

I've been under the impression the differences between desktops and workstations are:

1) Desktops are the form factor, ie desktop vs laptop.
2) Workstations are for serious work and have hardware configurations to support such tasks, ie redundant PSUs, buffered RAM, multiple Xeon/Opteron -class CPUs, similar class high bandwidth storage specs, and audio/visual components for real work (ie, not gaming or listening to music).

At one time after the high end sun risc workstations the term workstation was used for high end desktops (that should confuse things). When I was as a small reseller your average desktop was a pII 166-233MHz and your workstations were dual cpu PPro or such. Average desktops had IDE drives and the workstations SCSI. Average desktop was Windows 95/98, workstations were NT4. You had Compaq Dekstop Desktops (and Armada laptops) and the Professional Workstations, or HP Vectra (Omnibook) and Kayak workstations.

Now a days the term workstation does seems to just be a synonym of desktop or desktops and laptops since your high end workstations and average desktops now run the same OS and have the same multi-core cpu's there just isn't much market for the old workstation.

i think it comes down to intended use. workstations are intended for corperations and usually run a operating system with expanded functionalities (like windows ultimate edition/ redhat enterprise).

desktops are usually intended for home use (windows vista home/ fedora/ ubuntu).


i think workstations is the new name for mini-computers. my older domain manager used to call the sun server a mid-range which was an old name for servers because they were bigger than mini-computers but smaller than mainframes.

I think from the discussion here Workstation is used in a few different ways:
To denote a machine on which one does heavy-lifting work -- rendering, large compilation, CAD etc.
To denote a high-powered desktop put together in order to do the above.
To denote a machine with some or all of: Dual CPU sockets, using server-grade CPUs; nVIDIA Quadra type graphics card or cards for computation or heavy 3D; ECC RAM; Dual PSUs; Gigabit network; large amounts of storage or attached to a SAN; and probably a few things I've forgotten.
I would tend towards the latter as, perhaps, the true definition but I can see now how blurred the lines are.

I was writing my post when you submitted yours. I think this is a good point also. It reminds me of the question "what is a server" to which my reply is always, now, "a process listening on a socket" since some machines being sold as servers are just glorified desktops (yes, I know there is overlap) and things like the Raspberry Pi can actually make very good servers for certain use cases (I keep meaning to get one as a torrent box and to SSH tunnel to from outside my home).

i recently set-up my dads laptop to windows-8 and i skimmed the first few paragraphs of the 20 page eula. it said something like 'this pc cannot be used as a server and you agree to purchase another license if that functionality is needed...' and the next few steps in the install was setting up file and printer sharing.

the eula also mentions that the license only permits one user to use the laptop but the very next step was setting up user accounts.

i tried to duel-boot him with fedora but the windows partition refuses to boot now (some error with \boot\bcd).

I bet there's a wizard to set up file sharing also? So MS are giving you tools to break their own EULA.
EULA idiocy like that was one of the reasons I made the move to Linux. I want to play without breaking some "agreement" no matter how unlikely it is to be enforced against me.

Looks like the workstation category still exists. Example http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/de...tations?~ck=mn

Optiplex = desktop, your typical corporate user or home user.
Precision = Workstation for intensive applications.

So it still matches the old definition. Both are a box on your desk but workstation is just a more powerful box.

i think these are just marketing terms and are used arbitrarilly:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...5/#post4910168

Some parts are shared, same as how an Escalade shares the same frame and body sheet metal as a Suburban but each has different options and different price tags.

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^ are you sure theyre not rebadged avalanches ?