although technically categorised as "minicomputers", these gec machines were physically very large by today's standards, each occupying several standard communications cabinets, each standing high by wide. the cdc 9762 hard disc drives were housed separately in large stand-alone units, each one about the size of a domestic washing machine. (see images in the photo of the gec computers' development centre). the 70 mbyte capacity hard discs themselves were in fact removable units, each consisting of a stack of five 14-inch platters, standing high, that could be lifted in and out of the drive unit.