China is reportedly building the world’s fastest supercomputer with Intel’s most powerful hardware. The computer could be used to attempt calculations on a massive scale — such as moon exploration or the layout of an entire city. The computer is being assembled with Intel’s finest: 100,000 pieces of Ivy Bridge-based processor Xeon E5, which cost US$2,500 each.

The processors are said to be able to compute five times faster the world’s current top supercomputer. It will also use 100,000 co-processor Xeon Phi boards. The Chinese government view the supercomputer as a key tool to help them cope with an aging population and accelerating its space exploration. It is interesting to see China is switching back again to Intel from their homegrown CPUs.

SOURCE: zol.com.cn (Chinese content)