Sgi To Unveil New Supercomputer


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SGI will unveil a new supercomputer Monday that packs far more computing power per square inch than competing machines, a breakthrough that will help the company compete in what the high-end computer maker calls a Renaissance in supercomputing.

The Origin 3900, which SGI will also show off at the Supercomputing 2002 trade show beginning Nov. 18 in Baltimore, can hold up to 128 processors and fit into a single rack, said Addison Snell, product marketing manager for high performance computing at SGI. Current SGI Origin computers can hold only 32 processors in a rack.

"The Origin 3900 effectively quadruples the maximum compute density," he said. "It has the density of a blade but the architecture of a supercomputer." Economizing on space is important for a couple of reasons. Floor space in computing rooms is valuable, so reducing the size of computers saves money and expands the places where these systems can be installed. Versions of the Origin 3900, for example, could be fit onto an oil exploration ship or a plane.

The density of the Origin 3900 is largely accomplished through the low-energy characteristics of the company's MIPS processor, which consumes about 17 watts, about the same as a notebook chip.

Additionally, density increases performance by reducing the distance that signals have to travel between the processors, memory and other subsystems. The subsets of most large supercomputers are linked through cables. Because signals can't be accelerated, the best improvement lies in pushing the machines closer together.

Full Story: CNET

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