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The Top 10 Supercomputers, Illustrated

Posted by timothy on from the sorry-no-centerfold dept.

1sockchuck writes "The twice-a-year list of the Top 500 supercomputers documents the most powerful systems on the planet. Many of these supercomputers are striking not just for their processing power, but for their design and appearance as well. Here's a visual guide to the top finishers in the latest Top 500 list, which was released this week at the SC11 conference."

8 of 68 comments (clear)

  1. Visual guide? by sjwt · · Score: 2, Funny

    What a let down, I was hoping to see a visual guide to these, you know something like how many small European countries would need to be covered in Cray 1's to equal there power!

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  2. Geek Porn at its Finest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    At last! Something to run Crysis at an acceptable frame rate!

  3. Every supercomputer should look nice . . . by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 3, Funny

    Supercomputer seller: "What do you want in your supercomputer?"

    Supercomputer buyer: "640K petaflop/s, Intel Gargantuaium nodes, POWER9 nodes, SPARC and Kindle nodes . . . "

    Supercomputer seller: "Anything else . . . ?"

    Supercomputer buyer: " . . . a shrubbery! One that looks nice . . . and not too expensive . . . "

    Supercomputer seller: "Um . . . okay . . . "

    Supercomputer buyer: ". . . and . . . another shrubbery . . . only a bit higher, so we get the two level effect, with a path down the middle for the service technician to walk along . . . "

    Supercomputer seller: "Your supercomputer shall be the fastest in the world . . . for a few weeks, anyway . . . and it will look nice!"

    What if Apple built a supercomputer? Those accessories would cost a fortune, but you could really flaunt them to the supercomputing community.

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    1. Re:Every supercomputer should look nice . . . by darthdavid · · Score: 5, Funny

      The entire building is a plastic white egg, there's a power button, a really big plug, 1 Ethernet jack, 1 usb port and several proprietary ports that no one but Apple uses. The preferred interface is a small touchscreen kiosk carefully hidden with tasteful landscaping.

      There are no user-serviceable parts inside, opening the shell voids the warranty. What few upgrade options available when ordering will have exorbitant mark up and it will be slightly slower and a lot more expensive than most of its competitors. If anything breaks the recommended solution is to demolish it on site and order a new one.

  4. Imagine a beowulf... by MrKaos · · Score: 4, Funny

    adventure game utilising the combined resources of these machines.

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  5. Re:Acceptable Frame Rate by jellomizer · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ok ok something that will run a flash version of Crysis running off of firefox at an acceptable frame rate.

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  6. You know what would be nice? by Tastecicles · · Score: 4, Funny

    A Top500 site where Petaflop count takes second place to aesthetic appeal.

    Let's have Hypercubes, spheres, ultraflats, invisibles, ultraquiets, computers-as-furniture, computers-as-art, cyberpunk, retro; let your imagination run riot.

    Just remember, it was my idea.

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  7. Re:Phooey! by JamesTRexx · · Score: 3, Funny

    Show us the racks!

    Yes! Show us the racks!

    Wait, we were talking about the car show girls, right?

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