Supercomputer with 68,000+ CPUs is world's fastest!

According to TOP500.Org, the Fujitsu-built “K computer” in Kobe, Japan, is currently the world’s fastest supercomputer. Able to complete more than 8 quadrillion calculations per second (petaflop/s), the K computer uses 672 computer racks and 68,544 SPARC64 VIIIfx CPUs–with eight cores each.

Although only the K computer is only half finished, it was able to achieve a LINPACK benchmark performance of 8.162 petaflops. When completed in 2012, the K computer will have over 800 racks, and be designed to reach 10 petaflops.

 

 

The K Computer has nearly twice as many cores as any other supercomputer on the TOP500 list and is more powerful than the next five machines combined. It’s housed at the RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science.

 

Top 10 Fastest Supercomputers

K computer rack – Credit: Fujitsu

 

TOP500.Org has been ranking the world’s supercomputers since 1993 and updates its list supercomputers twice a year–in June and November. The following 10 systems top the organization’s 37th list (released June 2011):

 

1. “K computer” (RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science, Japan)
2. Tianhe-1A (National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin, China)
3. Jaguar (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S.)
4. Nebulae (National Supercomputing Center, China)
5. Tsubame 2.0 (Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan)
6. Cielo (Los Alamos National Laboratory, U.S.)
7. Pleiades (NASA Ames Research Center, U.S.)
8. Hopper (National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center , U.S.)
9. Tera 100 (Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives, France)
10. Roadrunner (Los Alamos National Laboratory, U.S.)

Related articles

• Japan’s 8-petaflop K Computer Is Fastest On Earth (tech.slashdot.org)
• New rankings of world’s fastest supercomputers released: Japan, China, US take top three spots (boingboing.net)
• Japanese supercomputer is fastest in the world (news.cnet.com)
• Japanese supercomputer is fastest in the world (news.cnet.com)
• Japan dethrones China for supercomputer crown (zdnet.com)
• Japan Reclaims Top Ranking on Latest TOP500 List of World’s Supercomputers (top500.org)
• K Computer Makes Your Gaming Rig Look Lazy (escapistmagazine.com)
• Fujitsu has built the fastest supercomputerer at 8.2 petaflops the K supercomputer (nextbigfuture.com)
• Fujitsu develops world’s most powerful supercomputer (electronista.com)
• New Fujitsu Site Previews 10 Petaflop K Supercomputer (insidehpc.com)
• Japan’s ‘K Computer’ takes supercomputer crown (zdnet.com)
• SPARC64 Viiifx top of top500 (laotsao.wordpress.com)
• Japan takes the Top 500 lead with K super (go.theregister.com)
• Fujitsu K supercomputer now ranked fastest in the world, dethrones China’s Tianhe-1A (engadget.com)
• Fine, You Can Have It!: Japan Takes Back Honor Of ‘World’s Fastest Supercomputer’ (geekologie.com)

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Filed under: Knowledge, Central processing unit, Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Supercomputing Center of Tianjin, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Supercomputer, Tera 100, Tianhe-I, Tokyo Institute of Technology