Science & Tech · Big Tech & Internet · 2 hrs ago
Spanish museum builds Cray-1 replica from 30 old Mac minis
A Spanish computer museum has built a Cray-1 replica using 30 Mac minis dating from 2012 to 2014.
The Cray-1, first introduced in 1976, is known for its distinctive C-shaped cabinet and was one of the era’s most successful supercomputers.
The Mac minis work together as one 70-core system, passing computing tasks between them.
In tests, the exhibit reached 1.5 teraflops, compared with the original Cray-1’s theoretical peak of about 160 megaflops.
The machines sit in a tower that uses rising heat to cool them without mechanical fans, and the exhibit is on permanent display at the museum.
The team hopes to crowdfund about 80 more M4 Mac minis to build a modern supercomputer that could rank on the Top500 list.
A Spanish computer history museum has built a Cray-1 replica using 30 Mac Minis made between 2012 and 2014.
The machines achieved 1.5 teraflops during testing, exceeding the original Cray-1’s theoretical peak of about 160 megaflops.
The exhibit combines five quad-core i7s and 25 dual-core i5s for a total of 70 cores.
It is on permanent display at the Museo de Historia de la Computación in Spain.
The museum team hopes to crowdfund about 80 additional M4 Mac Minis to build a supercomputer that could rank on the Top500 list.
- Who
- The Museo de Historia de la Computación in Spain built the replica.
- What
- It connected 30 older Mac Minis to recreate a Cray-1 and achieved 1.5 teraflops during testing.
- When
- The museum recently built the replica. The articles do not state an exact date.
- Where
- Museo de Historia de la Computación in Spain.
- Why
- To recreate the Cray-1 as a museum exhibit; the team also hopes to build a modern supercomputer with more Mac Minis.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The original Cray-1 debuted.
The museum used 30 Mac Minis dating from 2012 to 2014 to build the replica.
The replica is on permanent display at the Museo de Historia de la Computación.
The museum team is looking to crowdfund about 80 more M4 Mac Minis.
- Mac Minis used
- 30, dating from 2012 to 2014
- Processor mix
- Five quad-core i7s and 25 dual-core i5s
- Total cores
- 70
- Test performance
- 1.5 teraflops
- Original Cray-1 peak
- About 160 megaflops
- Planned additional machines
- About 80 M4 Mac Minis
Sources
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