Faster, cheaper, better

The most super machines are getting even more super

Jul 22nd 2004|new york

SUPERCOMPUTING had its heyday in the 1980s. The field attracted many of the best minds in computer science, as start-ups and established companies vied for the prestige of creating the fastest computer in the world. Interest in these high-powered beasts waned in the 1990s, as computing talent was drawn to the internet. This has been changing in recent years. The ability to build powerful computers cheaply, combined with growing commercial demand for high-end computing power, is creating a renaissance in the field of supercomputing.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Faster, cheaper, better”