Virginia Tech Supercomputer Ranks #4 [updated to #3]

MacRumors · Oct 21, 2003, 11:48 PM

The New York Times provides preliminary numbers for the fully assembled PowerMac G5 Cluster which Virginia Tech assembled this month.

The preliminary numbers rank the G5 Cluster at the 4th in the world in performance with 7.41 trillion operations per second . Official results will not be reported until November, and Tech reports that they are "still finalizing their results and that the final speed number might be significantly higher."

The relative cost of the entire assembly is significantly less then previous solutions.

idkew · Oct 21, 2003, 11:51 PM

WOW.

That is a lot of operations per second.

Gotta like a Mac being number 4. Not quite number one, but 4 is nice, too.

DrGruv1 · Oct 21, 2003, 11:52 PM

maybe 2nd?

Kirtus · Oct 21, 2003, 11:52 PM

I heard on your mac life that it would be number 2 when it was all said and done.

Mr. G4 · Oct 21, 2003, 11:52 PM

What happen to #2.
I guess it's still in top5

michael666 · 11:56 PM

The following article puts it on second place on the list:

http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,60821,00.html

Quote:

The brand new "Big Mac" supercomputer at Virginia Tech could be the second most powerful supercomputer on the planet, according to preliminary numbers.

Early benchmarks of Virginia Tech's brand new supercomputer -- which is strung together from 1,100 dual-processor Power Mac G5s -- may vault the machine into second place in the rankings of the worlds' fastest supercomputers, second only to Japan's monstrously big and expensive Earth Simulator.

The Big Mac's final score on the Linpack Benchmark won't be officially revealed until Nov. 17, when the rankings of the Top 500 supercomputer sites are made known at the International Supercomputer Conference.

XnavxeMiyyep · Oct 21, 2003, 11:55 PM

I wonder whether this number will become higher in the rankings when Panther comes around. Or is this one of those things purely measured by the processor itself?

hugemullens · Oct 21, 2003, 11:56 PM

the number-4-baby department ?

this is great news, cheap, ultra powerful, great time to be a mac user !!!

Oirectine · Oct 21, 2003, 11:59 PM

This is great news

And it is running OS X. I wonder how many of the top 10 super computers are running Windows...

dukemeiser · Oct 22, 2003, 12:01 AM

Now that's fast.

arn · Oct 22, 2003, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by michael666
The following article puts it on second place on the list:

http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,60821,00.html

The Wired article has very preliminary numbers. The NYTimes article is more accurate.

I wouldn't assume the rank will change. I don't know the spread.

arn

MasterMac · Oct 22, 2003, 12:05 AM

This is pretty good nonetheless

Hopefully the final numbers will place them a little higher

Edot · Oct 22, 2003, 12:08 AM

They are only a couple hundred billion off from 3rd.

howard · Oct 22, 2003, 12:09 AM

who's number 1?

chazmox · Oct 22, 2003, 12:15 AM

Isn't number one the Japanese Earth Simulator ( or some close approximation of that name.. )?

QCassidy352 · Oct 22, 2003, 12:21 AM

yes, that is #1, and it's #1 by a lot.

voicegy · Oct 22, 2003, 12:21 AM

Earth Simulator Center in Yokohama, Japan, rated at 35.86 TFlops

http://www.top500.org/

TrenchMouth · Oct 22, 2003, 12:25 AM

From my knowledge the number one supercomputer is the earth simulator. i read an article about IBM getting the rights to build two new ones this year that will blow the earth simulator out of the water, but those are super huge and super expensive.

i think this is great for Apple. if this thing had placed in the top 100 it would be great. what this means is that the new G5s are great for running things in parallel fashion and that they scale incredibly well. the price performance ratio of this machine is off the charts. Kudos to VT for having the balls to put it together. so this thing has 2200 processors. anyone out there care to go for 4000? how about 6? you know they are thinking about it.

MOM · Oct 22, 2003, 12:26 AM

This is BIG news!! An article in the New York Times stating that one of the world's fastest supercomputers is made from Macs-for cheap, WOW! So many people will read this and think "Macs are cheap and fast." How often has that sentatment come from the mainstream press?

Blaaze · Oct 22, 2003, 12:28 AM

wow, i had no idea this big mac would be placed so high. It's pretty amazing comparing the costs and time to the big mac's counterparts.

big plus for apple. with newly released iTunes, and the supercomputer, their name is really being thrown around the market place.

Powerbook G5 · Oct 22, 2003, 12:35 AM

So where can I pick up one of these babies? I wonder if I can get a good Edu discount on it

By the way...imagine all the free copies of Panther those guys are getting. Can you say eBay?

Rower_CPU · Oct 22, 2003, 12:39 AM

Hmmm, they jumped up a couple of places since this thread.

Did a couple of those AlphaServers drop off the list?

Sol · Oct 22, 2003, 12:40 AM

4th fastest is not bad, especially when you look at the overall cost and the time that it was put together. Just imagine what will be possible in the same space when the G5 XServes become an option.

ryanw · Oct 22, 2003, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Oirectine
This is great news
And it is running OS X. I wonder how many of the top 10 super computers are running Windows...

Uh, if I remember right, it's running Yellowdog Linux so Panther shouldn't help much in this situation ...

MasterMac · 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ryanw
Uh, if I remember right, it's running Yellowdog Linux so Panther shouldn't help much in this situation ...

I'm pretty sure that the VT comps are running 10.2.7 not Linux, I'll try and find an article confirming it.

Edit; http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/...03135718.shtml

Oct 21, 2003, 11:52 PM	#5
Mr. G4 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Rohnert Park, CA	What happen to #2 What happen to #2. I guess it's still in top5

Oct 21, 2003, 11:55 PM	#7
XnavxeMiyyep macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Massachusetts	I wonder whether this number will become higher in the rankings when Panther comes around. Or is this one of those things purely measured by the processor itself? __________________ I have a 14" dock.

Oct 21, 2003, 11:56 PM	#8
hugemullens macrumors 6502a Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Michigan	the number-4-baby department ? this is great news, cheap, ultra powerful, great time to be a mac user !!! __________________ 12" 867 MHz Powerbook 640MB RAM Combo Drive

Oct 22, 2003, 12:05 AM	#12
MasterMac macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2003	This is pretty good nonetheless Hopefully the final numbers will place them a little higher __________________ <insert signature here>

Oct 22, 2003, 12:08 AM	#13
Edot macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Iowa	Close! They are only a couple hundred billion off from 3rd.

Oct 21, 2003, 11:48 PM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Virginia Tech Supercomputer Ranks #4 The New York Times provides preliminary numbers for the fully assembled PowerMac G5 Cluster which Virginia Tech assembled this month. The preliminary numbers rank the G5 Cluster at the 4th in the world in performance with 7.41 trillion operations per second . Official results will not be reported until November, and Tech reports that they are "still finalizing their results and that the final speed number might be significantly higher." The relative cost of the entire assembly is significantly less then previous solutions.

Oct 21, 2003, 11:51 PM	#2
idkew macrumors 68020 Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: where the concrete to dirt ratio is better	WOW. That is a lot of operations per second. Gotta like a Mac being number 4. Not quite number one, but 4 is nice, too.

Oct 21, 2003, 11:52 PM	#3
DrGruv1 macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Chicago - West 'Burbs	cool maybe 2nd? __________________ - Michael Droste MusicRowSongs.com or TrumpetStudio.com

Oct 21, 2003, 11:52 PM	#4
Kirtus macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bay City, Mi	I heard on your mac life that it would be number 2 when it was all said and done. __________________ If it were the end of the world, trust me I'd know!

Oct 21, 2003, 11:59 PM	#9
Oirectine macrumors regular Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Wuxi, China	This is great news And it is running OS X. I wonder how many of the top 10 super computers are running Windows...

Oct 22, 2003, 12:01 AM	#10
dukemeiser macrumors 6502a Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Iowa	Now that's fast.

Oct 22, 2003, 12:09 AM	#14
howard macrumors 68000 Join Date: Nov 2002	who's number 1? __________________ Check out my new EP, its acoustic with a touch electric, mellow, a little folky, indie rock/pop.

Oct 22, 2003, 12:15 AM	#15
chazmox macrumors regular Join Date: Feb 2003	Isn't number one the Japanese Earth Simulator ( or some close approximation of that name.. )? __________________ We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. T.S. Elliot

Oct 22, 2003, 12:21 AM	#16
QCassidy352 Contributor Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Boston, MA	yes, that is #1, and it's #1 by a lot. __________________ "If Jesus Himself came back to earth and turned water to wine, half of MacRumors would say 'meh, this is red. I wanted white.'"

Oct 22, 2003, 12:21 AM	#17
voicegy macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Sandy Eggo - MacRumors Member since 1-1-2002	Earth Simulator Center in Yokohama, Japan, rated at 35.86 TFlops http://www.top500.org/

Oct 22, 2003, 12:25 AM	#18
TrenchMouth macrumors 6502 Join Date: Nov 2002	From my knowledge the number one supercomputer is the earth simulator. i read an article about IBM getting the rights to build two new ones this year that will blow the earth simulator out of the water, but those are super huge and super expensive. i think this is great for Apple. if this thing had placed in the top 100 it would be great. what this means is that the new G5s are great for running things in parallel fashion and that they scale incredibly well. the price performance ratio of this machine is off the charts. Kudos to VT for having the balls to put it together. so this thing has 2200 processors. anyone out there care to go for 4000? how about 6? you know they are thinking about it.

Oct 22, 2003, 12:26 AM	#19
MOM macrumors member Join Date: May 2002 Location: San Francisco	This is BIG news!! An article in the New York Times stating that one of the world's fastest supercomputers is made from Macs-for cheap, WOW! So many people will read this and think "Macs are cheap and fast." How often has that sentatment come from the mainstream press?

Oct 22, 2003, 12:28 AM	#20
Blaaze macrumors regular Join Date: Sep 2003	wow, i had no idea this big mac would be placed so high. It's pretty amazing comparing the costs and time to the big mac's counterparts. big plus for apple. with newly released iTunes, and the supercomputer, their name is really being thrown around the market place.

Oct 22, 2003, 12:35 AM	#21
Powerbook G5 macrumors 68040 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: St Augustine, FL	So where can I pick up one of these babies? I wonder if I can get a good Edu discount on it By the way...imagine all the free copies of Panther those guys are getting. Can you say eBay? __________________ iMac, therefore, iAm.

Oct 22, 2003, 12:39 AM	#22
Rower_CPU Demi-God (Moderator) Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: San Diego, CA	Hmmm, they jumped up a couple of places since this thread. Did a couple of those AlphaServers drop off the list? __________________ Join MacRumors.com - Team Folding!

Oct 22, 2003, 12:40 AM	#23
Sol macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Australia	4th fastest super-computer is a Mac 4th fastest is not bad, especially when you look at the overall cost and the time that it was put together. Just imagine what will be possible in the same space when the G5 XServes become an option. __________________ DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER

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