“Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University will upgrade its supercomputer that uses Apple Computer Inc.’s PowerMac G5 computers with Apple’s recently introduced Xserve G5 servers that have two chips in each box, the university said on Tuesday,” Reuters reports.
“The new system, which went online toward the end of last year and which Virginia Tech said was the most powerful supercomputer at any university in the world at the time, will be completed by May,” Reuters reports. “By moving to the thinner servers, the supercomputer will consume less power and generate less heat, said Srinidhi Varadarajan, assistant professor of computer science, college of engineering, at Virginia Tech.”
“‘It cuts the system’s size down by a factor of three,’ Varadarajan said. ‘The new system will take much less power and generate less heat and free up space.’ The current supercomputer that uses 1,100 PowerMac G5 desktop computers occupies 3,000 square feet (280 sq metres). After the upgrade to 1,100 Xserve G5s, which Cupertino, California-based Apple announced earlier this month at its Macworld trade show, the system will occupy 1,000 square feet(93 sq metres),” Reuters reports.
Full article here.
Uhmm,
soon on the market G5s with a brass engraved “1100th part of the fastest supercluster in the world – 3rd overall. Virginia Tech – 2003, a piece of IT history” plate!
Incidentally, the new rack mounted Xserve, maybe with new XL compilers, is bound to break new records in May.
Making for a solidly held 3rd place overall.
The article said they were working on getting very good homes for the 1100 G5s they are currently using. I have a very good home and am sure it would be very happy here.
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question, The cluster uses infiniband products for high speed data communication. What will the cluster use when VT migrates to the Xserve?
Is dual gigabit ethernet and IP over firewire good enough?
It would be nice if they would try to beat the earth simulator
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They get now extra space. Ooohh.. That is so sweat wet dream =)
Fastest Super Computer In The World.
one guy from finland,
What?
Ten years from now, we’ll look back on all this excitement and say “my toaster could outperform that thing now.” Or perhaps “I use one of those to make toast.” Or maybe “Can you remember when you had to punch buttons to get on the internet, instead of just saying “Hail Gates” into the mic and authorizing a credit card transaction?”
He mean’s ‘sweet’ wet dream. I believe that a “sweaty wet dream” might not be too bad if it was with a woman otherwise you might get fried being all wet next to an electronic device.
Oh please! Spare us the nerd fantasies. Yuk!
Yeah, and Apple in it’s infinite wisdom, back ordered my dual G5 this summer so they could fill VT’s order, now they aren’t even going to use those G5’s. I bet VT has the first 1100 XServe’s on order too, so that people who actually want to use them for something productive have to wait for theirs on backorder. I suppose Apple prefers the headlines and the kudos of a record breaking computer with their logo on it, rather than sending these out to companies who have an actual need for them.
KennyLucius, LOL! “Hail Gates!”–Hail No!
Apple should offer these as refurbished G5’s online at a discount to the first 1100 who what one, and deliver them via free shipping.
They would if they had any balls.
no sweaty wet dreams next to me please. if your too lazy to stay awake then go get electrcouted like mjg says!
i think oneguy meant “sweet” tho not sweaty. i got news 4 ya, its more salty, like chicken broth.
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hey crunge if virgin tech ordered before u then they got their mac before u. that’s the way it works. sux 2 b u
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if u want a used g5 u will now be happy
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“Apple should offer these as refurbished G5’s online at a discount to the first 1100 who what one, and deliver them via free shipping.
They would if they had any balls.”
Had any balls? Why do some people always act as if the world OWES them a living? Your idea is just plain stupid considering these machines shared a moment in history and are not just a bunch of used G5s.
What they should do is put a little numbered plate on each machine to commemorate the machine’s involvement in producing the 3rd fastest super computer on the planet in 2003. They can sell them at auction so the University can take the likely HUGE profit and put it towards further research.
to answer the guy who asked about the networking equipment…
This stuff is really expensive because it offers supremely low latency and very high throughput. When VT put it in 4 months ago, it was the best on the market. It probably still is. I highly doubt they’d change equipment. I expect them to use it with the xserves.
Crungeman, I haven’t heard of any problems with Xserve availability in the past. In fact, I recall hearing that only about 1200 or so were sold in a recent quarter. It may take a couple of weeks to get the first 1100 Xserve G5’s to Va Tech…sometimes you just have to wait. The positive publicity in the scientific/technical sector is worth the price IMO.
“… actually want to use them for something productive” – TheCrunge,
Why do you assume that VT will use it for something unproductive. Academic research contributes a lot to science. Many great things that are found in commercial products are the result of academic researches.
Guess who’s interested in VT’s technology? Argonne National Lab, the National Security Agency, and NASA. (And this was before the pending switch-over to XServe’s!). Go here for story:
http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20040127S0003
“The most eye-popping feature of Virginia Tech’s �Big Mac� installation is its $7 million price tag. ” – pkradd’s link to techweb
$7M? It was $5M, was it not? What’s the extra $2M for?
availability of the Xserve will be reduced when VT places the order for 1100 Xserves
“… actually want to use them for something productive” – TheCrunge,
Why do you assume that VT will use it for something unproductive. Academic research contributes a lot to science. Many great things that are found in commercial products are the result of academic researches
I agree, I am just saying that my company was actually waiting on the G5 before we could move forward with certain technical details. I understand that waiting for a new product to ship is part of the deal, but the announcement was that it was shipping, and I had to wait until VT’s order was filled. I commend the folks at VT and I think the Big Mac is not only a feather in their cap, but Apple’s as well. I just think that they should have announced the ship date when they had enough units to ship. I went through this a few years back with the 500MHz G4. I ordered on and they sent me a 450MHz G4 (that was a Motorola issue, I know).
PLease, how Can i download. http://finddevelop.freewebpage.org/