[COMP] Super computer (fwd)

["Thanh C. Nguyen" <ncthanh@csd.uwm.edu>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 97 11:44:38 PDT
From: Tien Duc Pham <tien@altera.com>

Wednesday June 11 1:58 PM EDT 

Company Press Release

Intel Supercomputer Shatters Own Computing Records

Intel Delivers System to Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 11, 1997--Intel Corporation announced today that its
parallel supercomputer, containing 9,200 Pentium(R) Pro processors, continues to break computing records and that
the completed system is being turned over to Sandia National Labs in New Mexico. Using the industry standard
Linpack measurement method, the system on site at Sandia performed at 1.34 trillion operations per second
(teraflops), a 25 percent performance increase from its historic December 1996 run that first broke through the one
teraflops computing barrier. 

``This supercomputer highlights the scalability and power of Intel Architecture microprocessors,'' said Dick
Ammerman, director of the Teraflops Project for Intel. ``This power enables Sandia scientists to begin to solve
some of the world's most compute intensive problems, which were previously unsolveable. The possibilities for
scientific applications are unlimited.'' 

The contract to build this supercomputer was awarded to Intel under the U.S. government's Accelerated Strategic
Computing Initiative. The supercomputer, a joint development of the Department of Energy, Sandia and Intel, will
be used to ensure the safety, reliability and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear stockpile through computer simulation
instead of nuclear testing. 

Sandia scientists will also use the system for other important scientific calculations. One such recent scientific
application evaluated the effect of a kilometer-wide comet striking the Atlantic Ocean. These calculations
confirmed earlier predictions about a comet's impact, with the capabilities of this supercomputer enabling scientists
to represent their findings in a full 3-D model for more intuitive and effective analysis. The model shows that large
quantities of ocean water would be vaporized by the impact, ultimately causing devastating tidal waves. The result,
a cloud of water and debris would dramatically change the Earth's climate. 

Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of personal computer, networking and
communications products. Additional information and a photo of the supercomputer is available at
www.intel.com/pressroom . 

Addendum to Intel Supercomputer Release Wednesday, June 11, 1997 

How Fast is the Intel ASCI Teraflops Computer? 

The Intel computer that broke the teraflops barrier is completely installed at Sandia National Laboratory in New
Mexico. Its most recent record shattering run was at 1.34 trillion operations per second. 

This makes the computer faster than a speeding bullet. By the time a bullet travels one foot, the computer will have
completed 667 million calculations. 

And it's faster than the blink of an eye. In the one-fiftieth of a second or so it takes you to blink, the computer will
complete 40 billion calculations. 

It's also well over 10,000 times more powerful than that Pentium processor-based system that's sitting on your
desktop. 

And How Big Is It? 

With 86 cabinets, it's as big as a good-sized starter home (1,728 square feet, counting the space between the
aisles and leaving a 4-ft space to walk around the machine). 

It has 9,200 200 MHz Pentium Pro processors, 573 gigabytes of system memory and 2.25 terabytes of disk
storage. 

Its peak power consumption is 850 kilowatts (a typical desktop system consumes 200 watts). 

It takes roughly two miles of cabling to interconnect the system nodes and cabinets. 

It weights about 44 tons and requires 300 tons of air conditioning equipment to cool it.