Megaflop/watt rate rises

Aug 10, 2009 9:59 AM

Supercomputers continue to use less power even as their capacity soars.

“The average energy efficiency of the top supercomputers in the world increased by 10%,” says Wu Feng (http://people.cs.vt.edu/~feng), an associate professor within the College of Engineering’s computer science and the electrical and computer engineering departments at Virginia Tech. Feng based his remarks on an annual compilation of supercomputer efficiencies called the Green500 List which Virgina Tech puts out.

The 10% increase in energy efficiency translates to a 10 megaflops/watt improvement, rising to 108 megaflops/watt from 98 megaflops/watt recorded in November 2008. Also, aggregate power of the list increased by 15%, to 230 megawatts from 200 megawatts. “While the supercomputers on the Green500 are collectively consuming more power, they are using the power more efficiently than before,” Feng added.