Upping the ante in the supercomputer stakes

This week's Supercomputing 2009 in Portland, Ore., puts the spotlight on the highest of high-end computing systems.

Intel unveils supercomputer chip, NEC partnership

The chipmaker has disclosed a version of its Xeon processor line optimized for high-performance computing. The company also announces it's teaming up with NEC.
(Posted in Nanotech: The Circuits Blog by Brooke Crothers)
November 16, 2009 1:35 PM PST

Microsoft testing Excel for supercomputers

At the SC09 conference, Microsoft releases an updated version of Windows Server for high-performance computers as well as a compute cluster version of its Excel spreadsheet.
(Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)
November 16, 2009 9:40 AM PST

Jaguar supercomputer races past Roadrunner in Top500

The Cray XT5 supercomputer known as "Jaguar" finally bests IBM after three tries. The top 10, while still dominated by supercomputers housed in the U.S., had just one newcomer.
(Posted in Circuit Breaker by Erica Ogg)
November 15, 2009 9:00 PM PST

previous coverage

Roadrunner supercomputer maps HIV family tree

Researchers are using IBM's Roadrunner to analyze tens of thousands of genetic sequences from individuals with HIV in the hopes of zeroing in on vaccine target areas.
(Posted in Health Tech by Elizabeth Armstrong Moore)
October 28, 2009 6:25 PM PDT

Supercomputer to use new Nvidia 'Fermi' chip

Oak Ridge National Laboratory announces plans for a new supercomputer that will use Nvidia's next generation GPU architecture.
(Posted in Nanotech: The Circuits Blog by Brooke Crothers)
September 30, 2009 3:05 PM PDT

How Intel's supercomputer almost used HP chips

In the 1990s, Intel seriously considered building the world's fastest supercomputer with a rival's processors, but the Pentium Pro arrived in time after all.
(Posted in Deep Tech by Stephen Shankland)
September 22, 2009 8:09 AM PDT