Xserve G5s to Replace PowerMacs in 'Big Mac'?

[MacRumors]

A Slashdot comment offers up an interesting rumor floating around Blacksburg, VA.

The rumor here on campus [Virginia Tech] is that Apple is going to let them trade the G5 towers for G5 XServes, 1:1. So if you are wondering where the first 1100 XServes are going, look no further than Blacksburg.

Now, Slashdot comment postings do not make for reliable sources, but we've since received further word of the same... from those who claim to be familiar with the plans. The migration plan was reportedly part of the original PowerMac deal. The big question, of course, is what happens to the original 1100 PowerMac G5s?

[joeyboy76]

apple is going to refurb then resell to the public!

[LimeLite]

I bet they could sell them on the cheap to another university wanting to make an inexpensive top 5 super computer. Sell the whole lot for 10% off and that's a pretty sweet deal for a super computer.

[Knox]

And if true it does give the possibility that they could add more Xserves than the current 1100 PowerMacs, since it's going to be taking up a lot less space.

[punter]

do the xserves have as much computing power as the dual g5s?

edit: the apple site suggests the xserve can do 9.0Gigaflops.

[CheekyGit]

EBay! EBay! EBay! EBay!

[ITR 81]

Originally posted by punter
do the xserves have as much computing power as the dual g5s?

edit: the apple site suggests the xserve can do 9.0Gigaflops.

They should have the same processing power.

The old G5's will be either refurbished or taken to another university wanting a similar setup or give to charity.

[esc]

The Xserve and the PM G5 should be roughly similar in compute power. The big wins would be ECC memory in the new Xserve, much easier to manage spacewise and lower power consumption (0.09um chips in the Xserve).

On the other hand installing and rewiring would be a fairly massive task. If I were running the VT array it would probably hinge on how important having ECC would be to the current machine.

[Centris 650]

I agree that they will probably refurb them. I wonder if Apple will drop the price of the refurbs since they'll have so many? Doubtful but with, hopefully, new powermacs out soon the dual 2gig will drop in price. Could be a good time to get a sweet deal on a G5.

[backspinner]

I think VT won't mind getting the rumored 2.3GHz Xserves instead of the listed 2.0 ones

[MattG]

Wow that would kick ass. They'd be getting faster machines, plus they'd be making room for MORE machines. #2 Supercomputer anybody?

[Mr. Anderson]

As the star poster child for Apple's high end computing, it doesn't surprise me that Apple is trying to make a deal here. If they can manage to get 30% more CPUs in the racks (which I don't doubt is physically possible) they could get the #2 Super Computer.

I think this might be the underlying goal here. VT has proven that G5 Clusters are the way to go for inexpensive super computing. Apple and VT might have reason to keep VT at #1 for Apple clusters for a while - so this benefits everyone. And if they can manage to dramatically increase the power with minor alterations/installation, that will be fantastic.

Now how do we convince them to get on Team MacRumors: Folding

D

[edesignuk]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Now how do we convince them to get on Team MacRumors: Folding

hmmm...a small (LARGE) bribe may be called for

[the_mole1314]

I could see this happening, but VT spent tons of money on ventalation and other things. Don't you think that they would try to get the most out of it and not just go for a cooler processor?

[jholzner]

Will they be switching to the Xserve G5 Cluster node option?

[DaveGee]

"Own a piece of the 3rd largest super computer in the world!"

Heck... Some smart person could even sell em for a premium... Stick a cool placard on it and who knows what some might pay...

D

[Rico17i]

Set them up at 1 Infinite loop to run the iTMS.

[MongoTheGeek]

Originally posted by backspinner
I think VT won't mind getting the rumored 2.3GHz Xserves instead of the listed 2.0 ones

Could be the reason that the 2.3 haven't been announced.

Imagine if they were 2.3s *and* VT got enough to fill the same rack space.

That might put #1 in striking distance.

[edesignuk]

Originally posted by MongoTheGeek
That might put #1 in striking distance.

Nice thought, don't think so. The Earth Simulator is in a different league.

[yoman]

1)More CPUs for VT
2)More refurb dual 2GHz G5s for the rest of us
3)VT becomes #1 supercomputer in world
4) we all celebrate madly and laugh at every PC users face.

[BenRoethig]

Originally posted by jholzner
Will they be switching to the Xserve G5 Cluster node option?

Probably, I don't think VT needs the storage of a regular Xserve. The cluster is also a grand cheaper. I wonder if it will be any faster with Xgrid?

[Chaszmyr]

I dont think Apple would refurb them and sell them to consumers, I think they would try to sell them as a cluster to someone else... Afterall, the racks that they sit on and such at VT were custom made

[rog]

Wow, they should be able to run iPhoto without all the lags and slowness!

[yamabushi]

Originally posted by DaveGee
"Own a piece of the 3rd largest super computer in the world!"

Heck... Some smart person could even sell em for a premium... Stick a cool placard on it and who knows what some might pay...

D

I had the same thought. Apple might even be able to recover 100% of the cost or more. Selling them in an online auction might be the easiest way.

It seems to me that this would be building an entirely new supercomputing cluster. Some of the earlier work would make things easier but this would still be a massive undertaking.

[unc32]

I'd bet that VT would keep them and distribute them around campus. Saves money for everyone.