 The supercomputer, dubbed the ‘K computer,’ reached speeds of 8.16 quadrillion calculations per second, tripling the previous speed-topper. This put the latest computational powerhouse at the top of the 37th edition on the twice-yearly TOP500 list of supercomputers.
And this was when it was only partly operating. The full computer isn’t set to be completed by 2012, when it will be expected to hit 10 quadrillion calculations per second.
“I’m very happy that we were able to show that our nation’s industrial technologies are still strong,” said president of Japan’s Riken Advanced Institute for Computational Science, Ryoji Noyori. “I am delighted that we were able to achieve this result … despite the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake,” said Fujitsu chairman, Michiyoshi Mazuka. This marks the first time since June 2004 that Japan has reached the top of the supercomputing list, with Fujitsu’s supercomputer-specifically developed components pushing it over the edge. The K computer sports more than half a million physical cores, with each eight-core CPU more powerful than an Intel Sandy Bridge CPU. |
