It was a nice monitor stand though, the pizzabox style.

You're right on the sudden change! I remember our 386 was sitting flat on the desk, and the (huuuge) 486 tower was upright below the desk.

Maybe something to do with the noise? Must have been quieter to hide the monster below a wood plank on a carpet to dampen the vibration, rather than on a resonating wood plank right in front of your face.

My favorite part about these old computers is that they didn't have an auto shutdown yet. You had to flip a big mechanical switch on the back, and that was very satisfying!