Over the last decade, high-pressure-temperature experiments in mineral physics generally have employed either diamond anvil, shock wave, or conventional pressure generation methods. In the latter category, one would include standard hydrostatic fluid vessels, piston-cylinder devices, ''belt'' and ''girdle'' apparatus, and multianvil units. Recent emphasis in the use of such systems has centered on improvements in volume, pressure, and temperature capabilities, as well as the achievement of more hydrostatic pressure environments. Because the pressure generation level of conventional equipment is rather limited, in comparison to diamond anvil and shock wave methods, focus has been placed on the usage of working volume in terms of material synthesis and the measurement of physical properties. In this regard, the design of internal pressure cell-specimen capsule arrangements has been improved to allow X ray and ultrasonic measurements to hydrostatic pressures in excess of 6 GPa. Mineral data derived from such measurements should provide the bases for more accurate representations of the equation of state in the lower mantle and core by virtue of the inclusion of higher-order elastic properties.