03.25.20
A couple of decades or so ago, studios needed the exceptional power of a machine offered by the likes of SGI for complex visual effects. Non-specialized PCs simply were not cut out for this type of work. But then a sea change occurred, and suddenly those big blue and purple boxes were being replaced with options in the form of workstations from companies such as Sun, DEC, HP, IBM and others, which offered users tremendous value for something that could conveniently fit on a desktop.

Link to article: https://postperspective.com/visual-effects/