Anyone who has had at least a passing interest in Apple and in supercomputing will know that the two came together at Virginia Tech late last year in a big way. The 2200 G5 processor iBig Maci was put together in record time for a meager sum of US$5 million. After the dust settled, Virginia Techis new number crunching behemoth was ranked as the worldis third fastest supercomputer. Old news, but still a nice feather in Appleis cap.
Not 4 months after it came online, Virginia Techis supercomputer is going on a diet; iBig Maci, which currently is comprised of 1100 G5 Power Macs, will be upgraded to use G5 Xserves instead. Hereis the Reuters News story, Virginia Tech to Upgrade Supercomputer to Xserve:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University will upgrade its supercomputer that uses Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile,Research) is PowerMac G5 computers with Appleis recently introduced Xserve G5 servers that have two chips in each box, the university said on Tuesday.
The new system, which went online toward the end of last year and which Virginia Tech said was the most powerful supercomputer at any university in the world at the time, will be completed by May.
By moving to the thinner servers, the supercomputer will consume less power and generate less heat, said Srinidhi Varadarajan, assistant professor of computer science, college of engineering, at Virginia Tech.
You can find more information in the full story.