IBM Research: Press Resources

IBM reclaims top spot on Top500 list of supercomputers

Blue Gene/L surpasses NEC's Earth Simulator with a system that is not yet complete

November 8, 2004 -- IBM's Blue Gene/L supercomputer, being built for the US Department of Energy, claimed the number one spot on the Top500 list of supercomputers. NEC's Earth Simulator had occupied the number one spot for the past three years.

The Blue Gene/L system recorded speeds of 70.72 trillion calculations per second, almost double that of the previous leader. The completed machine, to be delivered to the Department of Energy by May 2005, is expected to be quadruple its current configuration.

IBM also announced a commercial version of the research project. A full rack system that will deliver a peak performance of 5.7 teraflops, the IBM eServer Blue Gene Solution is optimized for bandwidth, scalability and is capable of handling large amounts of data while consuming a fraction of the power and floor space required by today's fastest systems.

Related links

24th Edition of TOP500 List of World’s Fastest Supercomputers Released Top500 Press Release
Report: IBM Declared Global Leader on TOP500 List of Supercomputers IBM Press Release
IBM Retakes Top Supercomputer Rank as NEC Slips Reuters

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