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back to article Top 500 supers – The Dawning of the GPUs

With the International Super Computing conference underway this week, the Top 500 ranking of the world's most powerful supercomputers is out, and the bi-annual is just starting to be transformed by the advent of cheap flops embodied in graphics co-processing engines from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. While the 1.76 …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    After all these years...

    It has just occurred to me...

    Parallel or not parallel, surely. Like pregnant. Something either is or it isn't. *Massively* Parallel?

    ...I'll get my coat.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      RE: After all these years...

      I see your point, but on the other hand I have known several people who were massively pregnant.

      Clam.

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    2. Steve Roper
      Reply Icon
      Joke

      It's a matter of degree, surely

      Like pregnant. A woman may be Pregnant, as in just starting to show, or she may be *Massively* Pregnant, as in hobbling around with twins inside her like a bloated beached whale at 8 1/2 months...

      So the only question is how many is the difference between "Parallel" and "Massively Parallel"?

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  2. blackworx
    Coat

    All of which would tend to suggest...

    ...that someone, somewhere, is playing Crysis with everything on high.

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  3. Mr Templedene

    The BBC

    Has a lovely graphical representation of the top 500

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10187248.stm

    Linux seems to power lost of them

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    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Asgard
      Reply Icon
      Linux

      @"Linux seems to power lots of them"

      Yes I clicked on the "By OS" button on that web page, to see what they used, and at first it shocked me. It did make me laugh (I bet Microsoft are not laughing).

      Its really jarring to see how many use Linux. I didn't realise it was anywhere near that many and to think these are the top computers in the world. It really made me see how strong Linux is becoming. :)

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  4. Chris Miller

    Nice graphics page

    at the Beeb here:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10187248.stm

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  5. Mr Templedene

    d'oh

    I believe I meant MOST not LOST in my OP

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  6. Gwaptiva
    Coat

    A title just because it's required

    My ePeen is floppier than your ePeen

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  7. Jedi Name Germinator

    These benchmarks...

    ..mean nothing.

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    1. Martin Huizing
      Reply Icon

      You forgot something...

      ...waving of the hand, the Jedi way...

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  8. Lars Silver badge
    Linux

    Linux

    Linux is now at 91% with 455 out of 500, and growing.

    Could have been mentioned in this article, perhaps, but the again Linux is the super computer standard of to day.

    Few know about that, however, and on this top500 list it was a "forboten" word for many years.

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  9. BeachBoy
    Coat

    ... and not on the list

    While there are a few machines on the list that have their use listed as "Classified" it seems to me this is a very small number.

    I'm guessing there are quite a few boxes in the Virginia area of the USA and the Glocestershire area of the UK that aren't on this list but would certainly be top 20 or better contenders.

    Mines the one with the paranioa medication in the pocket ......

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  10. Sim~
    Coat

    Old tech right this way...

    Having checked out the bottom 50 of the list, I'd be happy with any of them. Any volunteers for postage...?

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  11. mrbe

    Nebulae has 4640 nodes and GPUs

    Timothy, you say Nebulae has "4700 nodes", but I think it is certainly 4640. See "A Look at the 4640-GPU Nebulae Supercomputer":

    http://blog.zorinaq.com/?e=14

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  12. John 62
    Welcome

    WETA

    I had a look at the BBC page too and New Zealand, or rather WETA on it's own, has more computing power than most of the world's countries.

    The Master program will be making us all ride lightcycles soon enough.

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  13. Dave Bell

    Don't ring us...

    I see New Zealand is worth a mention. And most of it is down to a company called WETA Digital.

    I wonder what Pixar and ILM have. Not as easy to spot in that BBC graphic.

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    1. Magnus_Pym
      Reply Icon

      I think...

      ... they send their stuff to WETA for final rendering.

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  14. The Indomitable Gall

    The USA...

    ...maybe the government should be asking its agencies to time-share? I mean, do they really need all that power all the time?

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  15. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Was it just me...

    ...did anyone just "switch-off" after the third paragraph and jump straight to the comments?

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Third paragraph?

      I came straight to the comments from the BBC article!

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