Virginia Tech Upgrades to 2.3GHz Xserves

MacBytes · Sep 28, 2004, 03:49 PM

Category: Apple Hardware
Link: Virginia Tech G5 supercomputer upgraded to 2.3GHz Xserves
Posted on MacBytes.com

Approved by Mudbug

wrldwzrd89 · Sep 28, 2004, 03:52 PM

This is a good day for Mac supercomputing. Maybe Virginia Tech's cluster will hit 12 teraflops with this upgrade. Over time, I can see this growing to 15, 20, 30, 40 teraflops as Apple releases new XServes. By the time it hits 40 teraflops - bye bye #1 spot for the Earth Simulator!

wordmunger · Sep 28, 2004, 03:59 PM

According to the Apple Web site, the COLSA cluster can reach 25 teraflops, so Big Mac isn't even the biggest Mac cluster anymore.

wrldwzrd89 · Sep 28, 2004, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wordmunger

According to the Apple Web site, the COLSA cluster can reach 25 teraflops, so Big Mac isn't even the biggest Mac cluster anymore.

I'm not surprised by this, given that the COLSA cluster has more XServes in it than Big Mac. Just imaging what COLSA will be able to do once it's upgraded to the 2.3 GHz XServes!

Macmaniac · Sep 28, 2004, 04:13 PM

Come on Apple get your freaking act together, release the updated Xserves to the general public!!

macridah · Sep 28, 2004, 04:33 PM

I want to see official results in the top500 list. Wow, looking back just 2 years ago, apple didn't even make the list, now entering .... it's 2 attempts are making at least the top 3. Amazing. I do want to see the #1 machine on the list a cluster of macs ... drewl.

realityisterror · Sep 28, 2004, 04:44 PM

i really hope they are getting new processors and not entirely new machines...
VT tuition must be going up

(^^it's a joke people...)

reality

TylerL · Sep 28, 2004, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macmaniac

Come on Apple get your freaking act together, release the updated Xserves to the general public!!

...because they're just tripping over piles of tens of thousands of the 2.3GHz chips, right?

MacRumors · Sep 28, 2004, 04:48 PM

According to AppleInsider and a column at USA Today, the System X supercomputer at the Virginia Tech Terascale Computing Facility has been upgraded to Apple Xserve Dual G5s running at 2.3GHz, up from 2.0GHz.

The cluster consists of 1100 Apple Xserve G5s, each with 4 GB RAM, and was previously upgraded in January from Power Mac G5s to Xserves.

Apple still describes the Xserve G5 as running only up to 2.0GHz, although specs in a leaked graphic in January showed 2.3GHz. The 2.3GHz version was reportedly made available exclusively to Virginia Tech.

pgwalsh · Sep 28, 2004, 04:51 PM

Maybe that's why the PowerMac went from 2.0 to 2.5 because the 2.3 part was spoken for.

Steamboatwillie · Sep 28, 2004, 04:54 PM

I guess they get the special treatment because they are so publicly visible?

mgescuro · Sep 28, 2004, 04:57 PM

Not too shabby, I guess. 2,200 processors running at 2.3GHz.
The Mach5 has 3,132 processors running at 2.0Ghz.

Even better... Mach5 is getting a LOT of attention from the government and NASA.

Glad to see Apple making some good headway in the supercomputing and sciences arena.

Private Public · Sep 28, 2004, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgescuro

Glad to see Apple making some good headway in the supercomputing and sciences arena.

I second that. Apple is headed in the right direction with the xserve

AmigoMac · Sep 28, 2004, 05:06 PM

I'm happy, although that one makes me feel my iBook damn slow...

Hey, I use a Mac! Well done apple!

shamino · Sep 28, 2004, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by realityisterror

i really hope they are getting new processors and not entirely new machines...

It takes more than a processor upgrade to turn a PowerMac into an Xserve. I'm pretty sure they got more than new CPU chips

Quote:

Originally Posted by realityisterror

VT tuition must be going up

(^^it's a joke people...)

VT sold their G5 PowerMac cluster nodes. They were available through (I think) MacMall for a few months. So they didn't lose their investment. IIRC, they actually sold for close to Apple's original price - people were willing to pay that much because the computers were virtually new and included some certificate of authenticity stating that the computer was a VT cluster node. (Yes, VT didn't get the full purchase price, since the store took a cut, but VT also didn't pay full retail price - they paid Apple's educational institution price.)

nagromme · 05:41 PM

Cool! (This was reported some time ago, although I don't remember where. Maybe the 2.3 part was just rumor, but it was mentioned--and the Xserve upgrade was done a while ago. Those Xserves have been up and running at VT for some time--pictures an all have been available for several weeks at least.)

And to clarify, this isn't ANOTHER Xserve upgrade. There was no upgrade to Xserves in Jan., just an announcement. This is that announcement now come to pass. That's what I've understood from eveything else I've read--that Big Mac was down for several months waiting, and there was no immediate upgrade with the towers were sold. Anyone know for sure?

Also, if IBM had enough 2.3s to offer on a mass scale, Apple could have done so--and that may happen in future. If not, then at least Apple could offer them to one high-profile Apple customer.

Mantat · Sep 28, 2004, 05:28 PM

I really doupt this. If its true, this is the most ridiculous thing I have seen this week. Just imagine the time wasted to switch the computers for a 15% CPU increase. Very hard to believe. And if true, the guy leading this switch must have an angry bunch of scientist at his back. Dont forget that these clusters arent there for braging rights, they are supposed to do some science stuff...

wrldwzrd89 · Sep 28, 2004, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgescuro

Not too shabby, I guess. 2,200 processors running at 2.3GHz.
The Mach5 has 3,132 processors running at 2.0Ghz.

Even better... Mach5 is getting a LOT of attention from the government and NASA.

Glad to see Apple making some good headway in the supercomputing and sciences arena.

Just imagine how many teraflops Mach5 will be capable of if/when it gets upgraded to faster XServes (not necessarily the 2.3 GHz ones - maybe the Mach5 maintainers will wait for the upgrade after 2.3 GHz to make the jump). We'll soon have our first 30 Teraflop Mac cluster.

LimeLite · Sep 28, 2004, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mantat

I really doupt this. If its true, this is the most ridiculous thing I have seen this week. Just imagine the time wasted to switch the computers for a 15% CPU increase. Very hard to believe. And if true, the guy leading this switch must have an angry bunch of scientist at his back. Dont forget that these clusters arent there for braging rights, they are supposed to do some science stuff...

Except for that the Xserves take up way less space than the towers, and all in all produce far less heat, which both saves room in the facility, and creates less cost for cooling the whole thing. In addition, having more space makes it easier for them to expand and add more processors if they want to. This is not just speculation, this is the reported reason.

AoWolf · Sep 28, 2004, 05:35 PM

Hmm so they have 2.3 Ghz x serves the thing I find odd is that apple canada had them on there site(as an error) when the top pro model was still duel 2.0 Ghz. Just think of the stuff the lucky bastards in apple R@D get to test...

Chaszmyr · Sep 28, 2004, 05:37 PM

Old news. I read an article about the virginia tech cluster which said it now used 2.3ghz XServes about a month ago.

munkle · Sep 28, 2004, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AoWolf

Hmm so they have 2.3 Ghz x serves the thing I find odd is that apple canada had them on there site(as an error) when the top pro model was still duel 2.0 Ghz. Just think of the stuff the lucky bastards in apple R@D get to test...

Makes you wonder what computer Steve is using!

Manzana · Sep 28, 2004, 05:45 PM

Any posted benchmarks? Or what's the difference in teraflops in towers vs xserves.

I mean have they run xbench on it yet

And if they could fit all those g5's in that space, that must mean the g5 PB is just around the corner (sorry couldn't help myself)

MacSlut · Sep 28, 2004, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mantat

I really doupt this. If its true, this is the most ridiculous thing I have seen this week. Just imagine the time wasted to switch the computers for a 15% CPU increase. Very hard to believe. And if true, the guy leading this switch must have an angry bunch of scientist at his back. Dont forget that these clusters arent there for braging rights, they are supposed to do some science stuff...

Why would they need to bring the whole thing down at once? It seems to me that they would just swap out units down the line.

Mord · Sep 28, 2004, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by munkle

Makes you wonder what computer Steve is using!

quad core 8GHz g6 cube i bet, with four 80" flat panels connected to some mad ati prototype x900 xt platinum ****.

Sep 28, 2004, 03:52 PM	#2
wrldwzrd89 macrumors 601 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Solon, OH	This is a good day for Mac supercomputing. Maybe Virginia Tech's cluster will hit 12 teraflops with this upgrade. Over time, I can see this growing to 15, 20, 30, 40 teraflops as Apple releases new XServes. By the time it hits 40 teraflops - bye bye #1 spot for the Earth Simulator! __________________ Proud iMac and iPod touch owner Successfully upgraded iMac to 1TB HDD

Sep 28, 2004, 03:59 PM	#3
wordmunger macrumors 601 Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina	According to the Apple Web site, the COLSA cluster can reach 25 teraflops, so Big Mac isn't even the biggest Mac cluster anymore. __________________ ResearchBlogging.org Cognitive Daily

Sep 28, 2004, 04:13 PM	#5
Macmaniac macrumors 68040 Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: A tiny spec in the "Garden State", 1 square mile in area, somewhere on the outskirts of town by the railroad tracks	Come on Apple get your freaking act together, release the updated Xserves to the general public!! __________________ The customer is NOT always right

Sep 28, 2004, 04:44 PM	#7
realityisterror macrumors 65816 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Snellville, GA	i really hope they are getting new processors and not entirely new machines... VT tuition must be going up (^^it's a joke people...) reality __________________ </end>

Sep 28, 2004, 04:48 PM	#9
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Virginia Tech Upgrades to 2.3GHz Xserves According to AppleInsider and a column at USA Today, the System X supercomputer at the Virginia Tech Terascale Computing Facility has been upgraded to Apple Xserve Dual G5s running at 2.3GHz, up from 2.0GHz. The cluster consists of 1100 Apple Xserve G5s, each with 4 GB RAM, and was previously upgraded in January from Power Mac G5s to Xserves. Apple still describes the Xserve G5 as running only up to 2.0GHz, although specs in a leaked graphic in January showed 2.3GHz. The 2.3GHz version was reportedly made available exclusively to Virginia Tech.

Sep 28, 2004, 03:49 PM	#1
MacBytes macrumors bot Join Date: Jul 2003	Virginia Tech G5 supercomputer upgraded to 2.3GHz Xserves Category: Apple Hardware Link: Virginia Tech G5 supercomputer upgraded to 2.3GHz Xserves Posted on MacBytes.com Approved by Mudbug

Sep 28, 2004, 04:33 PM	#6
macridah macrumors 6502a Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: city, CA	I want to see official results in the top500 list. Wow, looking back just 2 years ago, apple didn't even make the list, now entering .... it's 2 attempts are making at least the top 3. Amazing. I do want to see the #1 machine on the list a cluster of macs ... drewl.

Sep 28, 2004, 04:51 PM	#10
pgwalsh macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Menlo Park, CA	Maybe that's why the PowerMac went from 2.0 to 2.5 because the 2.3 part was spoken for. __________________ My Widget: F@H WUdget My Business: KAHE Sparkling Nectars

Sep 28, 2004, 04:54 PM	#11
Steamboatwillie macrumors regular Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Memphis, TN	I guess they get the special treatment because they are so publicly visible? __________________ 15" PowerBook 1.25gHz/512MB/80GB/Superdrive Just remember, I am not your average idiot.

Sep 28, 2004, 04:57 PM	#12
mgescuro macrumors member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Silicon Valley	Nice! Not too shabby, I guess. 2,200 processors running at 2.3GHz. The Mach5 has 3,132 processors running at 2.0Ghz. Even better... Mach5 is getting a LOT of attention from the government and NASA. Glad to see Apple making some good headway in the supercomputing and sciences arena. __________________ "...when all hope is gone, you know sad songs say so much..."

Sep 28, 2004, 05:06 PM	#14
AmigoMac macrumors 68020 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: l'Allemagne	I'm happy, although that one makes me feel my iBook damn slow... Hey, I use a Mac! Well done apple! __________________ No Mac no fun...

Sep 28, 2004, 05:24 PM	#16
nagromme macrumors 601 Join Date: May 2002 Location: Blinking blue dot	Makes sense to give them to VT Cool! (This was reported some time ago, although I don't remember where. Maybe the 2.3 part was just rumor, but it was mentioned--and the Xserve upgrade was done a while ago. Those Xserves have been up and running at VT for some time--pictures an all have been available for several weeks at least.) And to clarify, this isn't ANOTHER Xserve upgrade. There was no upgrade to Xserves in Jan., just an announcement. This is that announcement now come to pass. That's what I've understood from eveything else I've read--that Big Mac was down for several months waiting, and there was no immediate upgrade with the towers were sold. Anyone know for sure? Also, if IBM had enough 2.3s to offer on a mass scale, Apple could have done so--and that may happen in future. If not, then at least Apple could offer them to one high-profile Apple customer. __________________ nagromme Would you like a treatment? Last edited by nagromme : Sep 28, 2004 at 05:41 PM.

Sep 28, 2004, 05:28 PM	#17
Mantat macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Montréal (Canada)	I really doupt this. If its true, this is the most ridiculous thing I have seen this week. Just imagine the time wasted to switch the computers for a 15% CPU increase. Very hard to believe. And if true, the guy leading this switch must have an angry bunch of scientist at his back. Dont forget that these clusters arent there for braging rights, they are supposed to do some science stuff... __________________ Cinephotography with the 5D: Canon 5D Tips Ruby on Rails plugin directory:The Rail Station

Sep 28, 2004, 05:35 PM	#20
AoWolf macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Daytona Beach	Hmm so they have 2.3 Ghz x serves the thing I find odd is that apple canada had them on there site(as an error) when the top pro model was still duel 2.0 Ghz. Just think of the stuff the lucky bastards in apple R@D get to test... __________________ I do not exist 1.6 Ghz. MacBook Air

Sep 28, 2004, 05:37 PM	#21
Chaszmyr macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Boulder, CO	Old news. I read an article about the virginia tech cluster which said it now used 2.3ghz XServes about a month ago.

Sep 28, 2004, 05:45 PM	#23
Manzana macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Orange County, CA	Any posted benchmarks? Or what's the difference in teraflops in towers vs xserves. I mean have they run xbench on it yet And if they could fit all those g5's in that space, that must mean the g5 PB is just around the corner (sorry couldn't help myself)

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