Prentice writes: > An even more cynical view say that the HPC vendors lobby the government > to believe exascale is important so the government invests in it and > subsidizes their R&D.
Whether a few big exaflops computer or many teraflop computers, the computational needs exceed what is now available, yet more computational capability runs into the problem of extreme scale electrical power usage. Every aspect of computers and interconnects needs drastic reductions in power usage, so government subsidies would be useful. Calling this "an even more cynical view" seems a little harsh. Commodity mother boards are similar or equal to supercomputer hardware. But I wonder what will drive further improvements in reducing power usage by several orders of magnitude. I've heard the suggestion that computers in cell phones will be the mass market that leads to low-power hardware suitable for supercomputers. But the cell phone components do not cover the same range as supercomputer components. What do others in the mailing list see as the trend? Does the development of mass-market consumer products suffice for meeting the needs of the HPC community during this decade and the next? Respectfully, Alan -- Alan Scheinine 200 Georgann Dr., Apt. E6 Vicksburg, MS 39180 Email: [email protected] Mobile phone: 225 288 4176 http://www.flickr.com/photos/ascheinine _______________________________________________ Beowulf mailing list, [email protected] sponsored by Penguin Computing To change your subscription (digest mode or unsubscribe) visit http://www.beowulf.org/mailman/listinfo/beowulf
