ASTRA unveils octo-GPU supercomputer - bit-tech.net Forums

CardJoe · 2nd Jun 2008, 08:07

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/06...upercomputer/1

The ASTRA group at the University of Antwerp has revealed a pint-size supercomputer built from four GeForce 9800GX2 graphics cards designed for medical research.

Cupboard · 2nd Jun 2008, 09:16

Awesome

It reminds me of the xbox server that was going round a little while back.
Interesting that they seem to be using XP. I suppose they could be using XP x64 but if not they would be rather limiting themselves.

liratheal · 2nd Jun 2008, 09:18

Sweet jesus.

That Armorsuit has a lot of internal space.

And, who can say no to insane hardware being put to good use in the medical field?

Mankz · 2nd Jun 2008, 09:24

Those cards must be boiling.

Mentai · 2nd Jun 2008, 09:56

How can they not run just one crysis benchmark? How?!?

yakyb · 2nd Jun 2008, 10:29

because its an AMD board no sli on AMD boards

theevilelephant · 2nd Jun 2008, 10:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cupboard

Awesome

It reminds me of the xbox server that was going round a little while back.
Interesting that they seem to be using XP. I suppose they could be using XP x64 but if not they would be rather limiting themselves.

i remember reading somewhere that it has 8Gb of ram so i assume its running xp64

looks good though, maybe within another year graphics cards will be sufficiently powerfull to render that stuff in real

DXR_13KE · 2nd Jun 2008, 11:40

those crazy Belgians!!!!

identikit · 2nd Jun 2008, 12:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by theevilelephant

i remember reading somewhere that it has 8Gb of ram so i assume its running xp64

Yep

Quote:

We selected Windows XP-64 as the operating system for FASTRA. There were three reasons for choosing this platform: first, we needed a 64-bit operating system, in order to utilize 8GB of RAM. Second, we expected fewer driver issues on Windows compared to Linux. Third, within the Windows product line, Windows Vista is not yet supported by the NVIDIA GPU Computing platform, leaving Windows XP as the only choice. For development, we use Microsoft Visual Studio 2008. The core functionality for our CPU code is written in C++ (Visual C++), while MATLAB is often used as a front-end for rapid prototyping. All GPU code is developed using the NVIDIA CUDA framework, a C-like programming language that allows for efficient programming of the NVIDIA GPUs.

Edit: Damn nice cabling job they did there I must add.

Cupboard · 2nd Jun 2008, 12:16

Love the bit of Crysis they are playing in that video

It must be so tempting to borrow the PC for the weekend!

[USRF]Obiwan · 2nd Jun 2008, 12:40

Hell yeah! who needs a CPU anyway

bowman · 2nd Jun 2008, 13:27

'The ASTRA desktop supercomputer won't win any design awards'

Lian Li case is nice enough, cable management is great - sure, it has no case mods, but it's a damn sight better looking than the average desktop PC.

proxess · 2nd Jun 2008, 13:44

its actually really affordable for what it is. i'd like to know the temperature in that thing tho, specially with some heavy gpu usage.

Tile · 2nd Jun 2008, 15:27

Deleted

Icy EyeG · 2nd Jun 2008, 15:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by DXR_13KE

those crazy Belgians!!!!

Now we know that there's more than one crazy Belgian out there...

It'd be possible to connect quad 9800GX2 to a motherboard like the P5N64 WS Professional by using a PEG flexible extender. They could get SLI, SAS and Intel Core2 Quad by doing so...

I'm curious to know how well does the FASTRA performs against the Tesla series. It'd definitely show if they are worth the money or not...

Quote:

Originally Posted by proxess

its actually really affordable for what it is. i'd like to know the temperature in that thing tho, specially with some heavy gpu usage.

Starting at 90º C

according to the site....

Tile · 2nd Jun 2008, 16:50

Deleted

woodshop · 3rd Jun 2008, 02:09

i love the classy double pack stack of paper monitor stand.

leexgx · 3rd Jun 2008, 03:22

but an 512 cpu/node system would use more power then this pc is useing for the task its doing

2nd Jun 2008, 08:07	#1
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7,965	ASTRA unveils octo-GPU supercomputer http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/06...upercomputer/1 The ASTRA group at the University of Antwerp has revealed a pint-size supercomputer built from four GeForce 9800GX2 graphics cards designed for medical research. __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

2nd Jun 2008, 09:16	#2
Cupboard I'm not a modder. Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Bury St Edmunds/Durham Uni Posts: 1,844	Awesome It reminds me of the xbox server that was going round a little while back. Interesting that they seem to be using XP. I suppose they could be using XP x64 but if not they would be rather limiting themselves. __________________ i7 920, 8800GTS 512, 6GB Corsair all in an Intel DX58SO; 3320GB RAID5; CM Stacker Samsung Q45. Last edited by Cupboard; 2nd Jun 2008 at 09:17. Reason: fixed!*

2nd Jun 2008, 09:18	#3
liratheal Just got a great book on tape Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: High Wycombe, UK Posts: 3,592	Sweet jesus. That Armorsuit has a lot of internal space. And, who can say no to insane hardware being put to good use in the medical field? __________________ Gigabyte MA790FX, X4 9950 Black Edition, 8gb Geil Black Dragon, 2x4870 512mb, Antec TruePower Quattro 850w I game, Do you?

2nd Jun 2008, 10:29	#6
yakyb CK is God!!! Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,067	because its an AMD board no sli on AMD boards __________________ Gaming Box:: q6600 @3.0 :: 9800gtx :: Abit IP35 :: 4gb :: 1.4TB :: akasa eclipse :: Win7 Development:: PhenomII 955BE @3.2 :: 4200 :: asus M4A785 M Evo :: 1.25TB ::Win7 Media Centre :: q6600 @3.0 :: x1950pro :: asus p35 epu :: 8gb :: 320 GB :: Lc17B :: Win7 server:: I7 860 :: p55 gd65 :: 3450 :: 8 TB :: 8gb :: Rebel 12 :: server 2008 R2

2nd Jun 2008, 11:40	#8
DXR_13KE Madeira's banana is the best!!! Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Madeira ; Portugal Posts: 6,469	those crazy Belgians!!!! __________________ *Renegade X - 0.40 Release!* <---- CLICK! Last edited by DXR_13KE; 2nd Jun 2008 at 11:46.

2nd Jun 2008, 09:56	#5
Mentai Supermodder Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: New Zealand Posts: 492	How can they not run just one crysis benchmark? How?!?

2nd Jun 2008, 12:16	#10
Cupboard I'm not a modder. Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Bury St Edmunds/Durham Uni Posts: 1,844	Love the bit of Crysis they are playing in that video It must be so tempting to borrow the PC for the weekend! __________________ i7 920, 8800GTS 512, 6GB Corsair all in an Intel DX58SO; 3*320GB RAID5; CM Stacker Samsung Q45.

2nd Jun 2008, 12:40	#11
[USRF]Obiwan Ultramodder Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,218	Hell yeah! who needs a CPU anyway __________________ Mascleta: "The most accurate simulation of thunder, humans can simulate..." The answer is 42, so... whats the question again? If you know what 'Peek' and 'Poke' represents, then you are probably as old as me.

2nd Jun 2008, 13:27	#12
bowman Multimodder Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 249	'The ASTRA desktop supercomputer won't win any design awards' Lian Li case is nice enough, cable management is great - sure, it has no case mods, but it's a damn sight better looking than the average desktop PC.

2nd Jun 2008, 13:44	#13
proxess Victim of AdvancedModernCapitalism Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The town of Love, Funchal Posts: 600	its actually really affordable for what it is. i'd like to know the temperature in that thing tho, specially with some heavy gpu usage. __________________ Netbook: Asus eeePC 901; 12Gb SDD; Custom Ubuntu 9.04 Minimal Compiz Standalone. Laptop: Intel Centrino Duo T5500 1.66ghz; 2048mb RAM; ATI Mobility Radeon x2300; Hitachi 120gb iPod Classic 120GB; Maxtor 160GB External; Ubuntu 9.10 x64 and Windows 7 x64.

2nd Jun 2008, 15:27	#14
Tile Banned Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 376	Deleted Last edited by Tile; 3rd Nov 2008 at 01:01.

2nd Jun 2008, 16:50	#16
Tile Banned Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 376	Deleted Last edited by Tile; 3rd Nov 2008 at 01:01.

3rd Jun 2008, 02:09	#17
woodshop UnSeenly Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: The Depths Of Hades Posts: 1,381	i love the classy double pack stack of paper monitor stand.

3rd Jun 2008, 03:22	#18
leexgx CPC hang out zone (i Fix pcs i do ) Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: uk Posts: 568	but an 512 cpu/node system would use more power then this pc is useing for the task its doing __________________ Qx6850 (OC 3.3Ghz) <> 120 extreme<> rampage forumla <> 9800GX2 <> 8gb 4x2gb (2x gell / 2x adata)<> SSD powered Corsair S128 / WD Black 1TB <> Crative X-fi FalTy FPS <> TK 1000w Toughpower <win7 x64> Click me for folding stats greenfrog.biz / 35947