Date: 04-30-2008
Intel has devised a plan to attack archrival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s (AMD) standing by allying with supercomputer maker Cray Inc., which has used AMD chips in its supercomputers for the past six years. Cray will now be using Intel chips for future Cray systems. Seattle-based Cray has three of the most powerful computers in the world, while rival IBM produces four. The deal is a multiyear agreement targeted to the production of the next generation of high-performance computers, which will boast of processing speeds allowing quadrillions of machine instructions per second. The newest supercomputers are expected to be nearly twice as fast as the world’s current fastest computers. “Cray enjoys a pretty unique position in the top 10 [of supercomputer producers], and fills a gap in the range of Intel systems,” Richard Dracott, general manager of Intel’s High Performance Computing division, said in an interview. Cray plans to unveil its first petaflop-scale machine later in 2008 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
