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History

The SPARCstation 2: More Power in the Pizza Box

Building on the solid foundation laid by the SPARCstation 1 and 1+, Sun Microsystems introduced the SPARCstation 2 in November 1990. This release continued the evolution of the popular "pizza box" form factor, delivering a significant jump in performance that kept Sun at the forefront of the workstation market.
The SPARCstation 2 was a direct successor to the 1+, and while it maintained the familiar slim desktop design, it packed a more powerful punch. It featured a faster 40 MHz CPU, often paired with a Weitek FPU, resulting in a substantial increase in processing power compared to its predecessors. This made the SPARCstation 2 even more capable for demanding technical and scientific workloads.
Like the earlier models, the SPARCstation 2 utilized the flexible SBus expansion architecture, allowing users to customize their systems with various graphics cards, network interfaces, and other peripherals. It typically shipped with Solaris (SunOS) and became a workhorse for software development, CAD, and other compute-intensive tasks in the early 1990s.
The SPARCstation 2 was a very successful model for Sun, further solidifying their reputation for delivering high-performance Unix workstations. Its increased speed and continued use of the convenient pizza box form factor made it a popular choice for both individual users and corporate environments.
While newer, more powerful SPARC systems would follow, the SPARCstation 2 remains a memorable part of the SPARCstation lineage, representing a key step in the performance progression of Sun's iconic desktop workstations.