#cray-1

[vidoeslot]

inspired by some tags I got on my cray post

[nelc]

Cray-1 Supercomputer

[blech]

Illustrations from the patent granted to Seymour Cray and Maurice Roush for the cabinet design for the Cray 1 supercomputer, 1976, via Mini Museum, who will sell you a board from one of the machines for about $30.

See also: Cray-1 Computer System Brochure, 1977, as a PDF.

[welcometoyouredoom]

Cray-1 supercomputer, 1976

[fckyeahnetart]

Cray-1 supercomputer, 1976 Living Computer Museum

source

[zomb13s]

The Evolution and Impact of Supercomputers and Servers in the Modern World

Introduction Supercomputers represent the pinnacle of computational power, evolving from massive, room-sized machines to sleek, compact devices with immense processing capabilities. These advancements have drastically transformed scientific research, industry, and even daily life. In parallel, server technology has undergone a rapid evolution, supporting the backbone of global networks and data…

The Evolution and Impact of Supercomputers and Servers in the Modern World

[nemosynth]

Talk about the Cray-1, with AI

July 16, 2024

Claude 3.5 Sonnet

nemo;

I saw the Cray-1A Serial Number 3 operating in NCAR, in Boulder Colorado, when I was still a school boy, 10 years old, back in 1979. I was born in Japan but moved to the US at that time. That was an amazing thing to see.

Claude;

That must have been an incredible experience to see the Cray-1A as a young boy, especially given how groundbreaking that supercomputer was at the time. The Cray-1A was one of the most powerful and iconic supercomputers of its era, known for its distinctive horseshoe shape and impressive computational capabilities for the late 1970s.

Seeing it at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder would have been particularly fitting, as supercomputers like the Cray-1A were crucial for advancing weather forecasting and climate modeling. NCAR was at the forefront of using such technology for atmospheric science.

Your experience is quite unique - not many 10-year-olds would have had the opportunity to see such advanced technology, especially in 1979. The fact that you had recently moved from Japan to the US must have added to the overall impact of seeing this American technological marvel.

It's fascinating to reflect on how far computing technology has come since then. The smartphone in your pocket today likely has far more computing power than that entire Cray-1A system. Yet, the Cray-1A remains an important milestone in the history of computing.

Would you like to share more about your memories of that day or how it influenced your interest in technology?

2. Perplexity free edition

nemo;

I saw that Cray-1A SN3 operating in NCAR, when I was still a school boy, 10 years old, back in 1979. I was born in Japan but moved to the US at that time. That was an amazing thing to see. Perplexity free edition;

Thank you for sharing that personal experience. It must have been truly awe-inspiring to see the Cray-1A SN3 at NCAR as a 10-year-old boy, especially having just moved from Japan to the US. You witnessed a pivotal moment in computing history.

The Cray-1A SN3 at NCAR was indeed a remarkable machine for its time. Here are some key details about the system you saw:

1. Installation date: February 1978 (so it had been operating for about a year when you saw it in 1979)[1][3]

2. Clock speed: 80 MHz (derived from its 12.5 nanosecond basic cycle time)[3]

3. Peak performance: 160 megaflops[3]

4. Memory: 1,048,000 x 64 bits (1 megaword or about 8 MB)[3]

5. Overall speed: Approximately 4.5 times faster than the CDC 7600 it replaced[3]

6. Physical characteristics: The Cray-1A, including its Freon cooling system, weighed about 5.5 tons[4]

7. Unique design: The C-shaped design with a circular bench around the base was not just for aesthetics but also served functional purposes

The Cray-1A SN3 you saw was one of the early installations of this groundbreaking supercomputer. It played a crucial role in atmospheric research at NCAR, enabling scientists to tackle more complex problems in their work.

It's fascinating that you had the opportunity to see this historic machine in person, especially at such a young age and shortly after moving to the US. That experience must have left a lasting impression and perhaps even influenced your interest in technology and computing.

Citations:

[1] https://cray-history.net/2022/01/08/ncar-ucar-a-research-site-with-a-long-association-with-cray-supercomputers/

[2] https://www.filibeto.org/aduritz/supercomputing/cray/cray_faq.html

[3] https://www.cisl.ucar.edu/ncar-supercomputing-history/c1

3. GPT-4o free edition

nemo

I saw the Cray-1A Serial Number 3 operating in NCAR, in Boulder Colorado, when I was still a school boy, 10 years old, back in 1979. I was born in Japan but moved to the US at that time. That was an amazing thing to see.

GPT-4o free edition;

That must have been an incredible experience! The Cray-1A was a groundbreaking piece of technology back then. It's fascinating to hear about your early exposure to such advanced computing. How did it influence your interests or career path later on?

--

Verdict for now;

GPT is nice, and sometimes comes back with better results than the others, but as for this one, Claude was awesome to talk with.

Perplexity is the amazing search engine of today. It has few hallucinations, though you still have to watch out and double check to be absolutely sure, but then again, that goes same with humans too.

Happy to see intelligences other than human being, Soon it will not be the matter of which should reign at the center of the universe, but about how we need to respect the computing abilities and results, be it from organic human being or machines.

The fact that they create things that are not only what we expected but brings more possibilities breaks people's limitation of thoughts, just like talking to someone else and have eye opening enlightening a-ha moments. This still brings me hopes for us when I think about how we can survive in the future world.

[nelc]

The Cray Research Cray-1 Supercomputer, a machine that in 1975 was capable of 160 million floating-point operations per second, and had a memory of about 3 MB. It weighed 5.5 tons (including the refrigeration system), and cost $8.8million. An Apple iPhone can do about 800 MFLOPS.