supercomputer Last modified: Sunday, September 01, 1996
The fastest type of computer. Supercomputers are very expensive and are employed for specialized applications that require immense amounts of mathematical calculations. For example, weather forecasting requires a supercomputer. Other uses of supercomputers include animated graphics, fluid dynamic calculations, nuclear energy research, and petroleum exploration. The chief difference between a supercomputer and a mainframe is that a supercomputer channels all its power into executing a few programs as fast as possible, whereas a mainframe uses its power to execute many programs concurrently.
The Computer Information Centre  Contains a collection of supercomputing links to organizations, manufacturers, industry news, reports, documentation, and downloadable software. The National Center for Supercomputer Applications (NCSA)  Provides links to recent news, partnerships, advanced computation resources, information on NCSA, divisions and groups, education, computational science, and software technologies. Byte magazine article on supercomputers This article, from January 1996, describes the history, transition and future of supercomputers. Many specific systems are referenced and linked to in the text of the article. Cray Supercomputing Systems site Presents links to Cray's line of supercomputers and information on software, applications, customer support, and company information. GigaBooster supercomputer From Supercomputing Systems AG, this is a product page for their GigaBooster supercomputer. Hitachi SR2201 supercomputer Provides a description of the Hitachi SR2201 massively parallel computer from Hitachi. Included are features, availability and pricing, and main system specifications. Intel Paragon Supercomputer A complete product description of Intel's Paragon Supercomputer. Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) home page The PSC home page offers links to information on the center, services, research, publications, and links to additional supercomputing research centers and programs. Quadrics Supercomputers World home page This home page provides information on this relatively new company created as a joint venture of the two firms, Alenia Spazio and Meiko. There are links to news items, company and product information, software and documentation, and customer support. Silicon Graphics supercomputing servers Describes SGI's POWER CHALLENGE line of supercomputing servers. Included are links to a technical report and operations research. Supercomputers used in medical diagnosis From Cornell's Forefronts publication, this article focuses on how supercomputers help in the medical diagnosis process. (Spring 1996) Tera Computer Company home page Tera Computer Company's home page provides information on its endeavors in the supercomputing field, including press releases, reports, general information, and a description of its MTA supercomputer. TOP500 Supercomputer Sites This site maintains and provides a list of the 500 most powerful commercially available computer systems. The actual list contains rank, manufacturer, computer name, performance information, and a link to the installation site. Yahoo!'s supercomputer company page Yahoo!'s directory of supercomputer companies. Supercomputing and parallel computing index Provides links to academic research groups working in the field of supercomputing and parallel computing. Supercomputing and parallel computing resources A collection of links to conferences and journals, research groups, vendors and supercomputer product information.

Related Terms

computer high-performance computing HIPPI mainframe nanotechnology