China’s Supercomputer is 30% Faster Than the Previous Record-Holder inside the US [Supercomputers]

China’s stolen the united states’ chip-laden crown for building the arena’s fastest supercomputer. The National University of Defense Technology created the Tianhe-1A PC using American chips from Intel and Nvidia, and supposedly it solves math problems 29million faster than 1976′s supercomputer.

The computer, which has over 7,168 M2050 graphics cards from Nvidia at a price of $2,500 each, and 14,336 processors from Intel, is under lock and key with the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education ahead of its big unveil later today.

Why does a 2.507 petaflop supercomputer warrant governmental expense like that? It boils all the way down to national pride, with the supercomputer race being extremely competitive. America’ fastest supercomputer is housed in a laboratory in Tennessee, where it’s been since 2004 after they toppled Japan off the head of the pile. [ NY Times and Reuters and Nvidia ]

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This post is tagged: defense technology, fastest supercomputer, graphics cards, math problems, ministry of education, national pride