UK supercomputer sets faster pace

[[GAFnews] Science Online]

Source : BBC

 

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UK supercomputer sets faster pace
More than 1,200 processors have been added to the system The UK's fastest-proven supercomputer used by the academic community has doubled in size and performance. The HPCx machine, based in Warrington, is now capable of operating at speeds up to 15.4 teraflops, or 15.4 trillion calculations every second. The speed boost follows the addition of more than 1,200 processors to the four year-old, IBM-built number-cruncher. The high-performance machine is used by scientists to simulate everything from ocean currents to biological cells. The upgrade will allow scientists to run more complex models on the machine. "What we've done throughout the computer's life is to keep the machine abreast of the way that computers are getting faster as a whole," said Professor Arthur Trew, director of the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre which heads the consortium that runs the system. "The problem is that the demand for computational ability always outstrips the machine's ability to deliver it." Although HPCx could achieve speeds of more than 15 teraflops, it typically ran at around 12 teraflops, Professor Trew said.

 

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6128066.stm

 

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