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China’s Tianhe-2 supercomputer is the world’s most powerful, but it uses some surprisingly old tech. Here’s how it does it.
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Introduction
What is a supercomputer?
A supercomputer is a computer that is at the frontline of current processing capability, particularly speed of calculation. They are used for specialized applications that require immense amounts of mathematical calculations. For example, weather forecasting, climate research, scientific simulations (eg. modelling the human brain or simulating nuclear weapon detonations.)
How China’s supercomputer uses old tech:
The Sunway TaihuLight is a Chinese supercomputer that is capable of operating at 93 petaflops. It was developed by the National Autonomous University of China, and its design was inspired by the previous world’s fastest supercomputer- the Tianhe-2. The Sunway TaihuLight uses 10,649,600 processing cores which are all connected via a Chinese high-speed network.
What is the world’s most powerful supercomputer?
There are two ways to answer this question. One is to ask which supercomputer can perform the most calculations per second, a benchmark called the TOP500. By that measure, the current leader is Sunway TaihuLight, a Chinese system that can perform at 93 petaflops, or quadrillions of calculations per second.
But another way to judge supercomputer performance is by how well it does on real-world tasks, such as simulating nuclear weaponstests or designing new aircraft. On these so-called application-based benchmarks, the clear leader is China’s Tianhe-2, or Milky Way 2. This system, which was designed to run a wide range of scientific and engineering applications, tops the list in four out of six major categories.
China’s Supercomputer
China’s Supercomputer is the world’s most powerful computer, and it runs on a mixture of old and new tech. The system is made up of more than 10,000 servers, and each server has two Intel processors and four graphics processing units. The system also has more than 10,000 terabytes of memory.
What is China’s supercomputer?
China’s Sunway TaihuLight is the world’s fastest supercomputer, as of June 2017. It is twice as fast as the previous record holder, Tianhe-2, which is also located in China.Sunway TaihuLight uses 10 million computing cores to achieve its top performance and can perform 93 quadrillion calculations per second. That’s the equivalent of every person on Earth making almost 13 million calculations per second.
The machine is used for a variety of research tasks, including weather forecasting, life science research, and finacial analysis.
What technology does it use?
China’s first supercomputer was the result of a joint effort between China and the united states and it used American-made chips. The second supercomputer, the Tianhe-1A, was entirely designed and built in China and used Chinese-made chips. The third supercomputer on the list is the Tianhe-2, which again used American-made chips. However, for the next few years, all of China’s top supercomputers will use Chinese-made chips.
How is it different from other supercomputers?
The Sunway TaihuLight is different from other supercomputers in a few key ways. For one, it uses a type of processor that is not commonly found in high-performance computing (HPC) systems. Most HPC systems use central processing units (CPUs) made by companies like Intel or AMD. However, the Sunway TaihuLight uses Chinese-made ShenWei SW26010 processors. These processors are based on an older architecture, which means they are not as powerful as newer CPUs. However, they are much cheaper to produce, which helped the Sunway TaihuLight achieve its record-breaking performance at a fraction of the cost of other supercomputers.
Another difference is that the Sunway TaihuLight is powered by Linux, while most HPC systems use a different operating system called Unix. Linux is a more flexible system that can be customized to better suit the needs of HPC applications. It is also free and open-source, which makes it easier for Chinese developers to work on and improve.
The Sunway TaihuLight is also notable for its use of graphics processing units (GPUs). Most supercomputers use CPUs for all of theirprocessing power, but the Sunway TaihuLight uses both CPUs and GPUs in order to achieve its incredible performance. GPUs are typically used for graphical applications like video games, but they can also be used for certain types of scientific calculations. The use of GPUs helps the Sunway TaihuLight achieve its impressive performance while also keeping costs down.
Conclusion
The Chinese supercomputer, the Sunway TaihuLight, is the fastest computer in the world. It uses a processor that is based on an old Sun Microsystems design. The TaihuLight is three times faster than the previous record holder, the Tianhe-2, which is also a Chinese supercomputer.
What are the implications of China’s supercomputer?
China’s new supercomputer has implications for the global tech landscape. The new machine is the first to be completely powered by Chinese-made chips, and it is the world’s most powerful supercomputer. This could signal a shift in the balance of power in the tech world as China starts to close the gap with Western countries in terms of technological innovation.
The new supercomputer is also a sign of China’s rising economic clout. The country has been investing heavily in research and development, and this is starting to pay off. As China’s economy continues to grow, it is likely that the country will increasingly be a force to reckon with in the tech world.
