We’re all the time on the hunt for {hardware} offers right here at PC Gamer, however this may be a bit a lot even by our requirements. The US Normal Providers administration is at the moment auctioning off a decommissioned 5.34 petaflop supercomputer, and though the beginning worth was a mere $2,500, the highest bid is at the moment $280,085. A cut price, we predict you will agree, but it surely does include the odd problem.
The Cheyenne Tremendous Pc was initially operated between January 2017 and December 2023 on the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing centre, and on the time of its set up was ranked because the twentieth strongest pc on the planet (through Ars Technica). Many moons could have handed since then, however in keeping with Wikipedia it nonetheless counted because the a hundred and sixtieth strongest as of final November, so it is not precisely a slouch even by trendy requirements.
Specs? Oh, nothing too extreme, simply 8,064 Intel Xeon E5-2697v4 CPUs, every with 18 cores, a Turbo frequency of three.6GHz and a 145W TDP. That is a complete core depend of 145,152, together with a mixed complete of 313,344 GB of DDR4-2400 RAM. Nonetheless, the itemizing warns that you just might need to keep watch over that reminiscence, as over its 7 years of operation “Roughly 1% of nodes skilled failure…primarily attributed to DIMMs with ECC errors, which can stay unrepaired”
There’s a couple of different small components to keep in mind, too. For a begin, it would not include any fibre optic or CAT5/6 cabling, which can add as much as fairly the extra expense in case you do determine to drag the set off. The itemizing additionally warns that:
“Transferring this method necessitates the engagement of knowledgeable transferring firm. Attributable to their appreciable weight, the racks require skilled movers outfitted with correct Skilled Safety Gear (PPE) to make sure secure dealing with. The purchaser assumes accountability for transferring the racks from the power onto vehicles utilizing their tools.”
Appears a bit extreme in case you ask me, though I am certain your friends would assist out with the promise of beers and pizza as soon as it is all completed. The water cooling system has additionally been dismantled and seems to have had some points, because the itemizing notes that “the system is at the moment experiencing upkeep limitations on account of defective fast disconnects inflicting water spray”. It’s included with the sale, nonetheless, together with some used PGW cooling fluid, including as much as roughly 10 gallons per E-cell.
Given there’s 14 of them—every weighing 1,500 lbs every—that is 140 gallons of coolant you are anticipated to shift on high of the supercomputer items themselves, so I might advise consuming a hearty breakfast on transferring day in case you plan on giving your skilled transferring crew a serving to hand.
Not solely that, however you will want fairly the ability connection. It is estimated that in its unique position crunching information for superior atmospheric and Earth sciences analysis, it was utilizing round 1.7 megawatts of energy. This being the case, I might recommend calling up your electrical energy supplier beforehand simply to be sure you do not plunge the encircling areas into darkness on first boot.
Nonetheless ? Properly, the public sale finishes at present at 6.11 PM US Central Time, so you will must get your skates on in case you’re considering of creating a suggestion. I’ve pitched it to the PC Gamer {hardware} crew as a possible tools buy, however the consensus appears to be that whereas it might effectively slot in our workplaces, we would all have to face outdoors and take a look at it by means of the home windows as there would not be room for anything. Boo.
