Short Take: IBM wins supercomputer record
IBM has broken a supercomputer record, knocking Compaq out of first place for how long it takes to sort a trillion bytes of data. Compaq took the crown in November, using a computer called the Kudzu Cluster at Sandia National Laboratories to sort the data in 50 minutes. A collection of 488 IBM RS/6000 computers, though, sorted the data in 17 minutes, IBM said.
Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise Processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science. Credentials
- Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
has broken a supercomputer record,
knocking Compaq out of first place for
how long it takes to sort a trillion bytes of data. Compaq took the crown in November, using a
computer called the Kudzu Cluster at Sandia National Laboratories to sort the
data in 50 minutes. A collection of 488 IBM RS/6000 computers, though,
sorted the data in 17 minutes, IBM said.