GPU圖形處理器 – 綠色環保超級運算電腦

GPUs Boost Supercomputers' Energy Efficiency

甫於六月底發布的2010綠色環保500大超級電腦(2010 Green 500), 這500大最頂尖前10大綠色環保超級電腦中, NVIDIA的GPU圖形處理器就佔了2名.

GPU正在改變計算機處理數據的方式。其中一大優勢是，集CPU與GPU於一身的計算機能源效率更高。用正確的工具來幹正確的活才能實現高效運行，而GPU便是實現高效計算的工具。

“Green500最省電超級計算機榜單已於六月底出爐，結合使用CPU與圖形處理器的超級計算機名列其中。Green500榜單每年評選兩次，據介紹，其中八台全球最節能超級計算機結合運用了類似GPU的專用加速器與CPU，以提升性能並讓超級計算機更加節能。 該榜單與500強榜單的評選機構系同一家單位。據Wu Feng介紹，與榜單上未配備加速器的機型相比，配備加速器的超級計算機節能效果可達3倍。他的職務是弗吉尼亞理工學院電氣計算機工程係以及州立大學工程學院的副教授。”

由於計算機圖形的特點，GPU在同時執行多項任務這方面表現得特別出色，因此也就非常適合這一全新的計算環境。 GPU為我們帶來的是，利用數以百計的核心以大規模並行方式來解決難題的特殊能力。

Supercomputers that mix CPUs with graphics processors made their mark on the Green500 list of top energy-efficient supercomputers released on Wednesday.

Eight of the world's greenest supercomputers combined specialized accelerators like GPUs with CPUs to boost performance and make supercomputers more power efficient, according to the Green500 list, which is released twice a year. The list was released by the same group that compiles the Top500 list.

Supercomputers with accelerators are three times more energy efficient than their non-accelerated counterparts on the list, according to Wu Feng, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University's college of engineering.

Two of the top eight green supercomputers are new entrants from China, and combine graphics processors from Nvidia with Intel's CPUs. In the previous list issued in November, only one supercomputer combined CPUs with GPUs from Advanced Micro Devices, but that machine has now dropped to the 11th spot.

The Green500 list is compiled to "ensure that supercomputers only simulate climate change and not create it," according to the Green500 Web site.

The list rates the greenest supercomputers by measuring performance in relation to power consumed. The calculation takes the megaflops-per-second performance (MFLOP/s) of a supercomputer and divides it by per watt of energy consumed. Supercomputers with accelerators averaged 554 MFLOP/s per watt, while other measured supercomputers without accelerators produced 181 MFLOP/s per watt.

The supercomputers combining GPUs with CPUs include the Dawning Nebulae supercomputer, which was in the fourth spot, and the Mole-8.5 supercomputer, which took the eighth spot. The supercomputers are in China and combine Nvidia's Tesla C2050 graphics processors with Intel's Xeon X5650 quad-core processor, which runs at 2.66GHz. The Nebulae supercomputer achieved efficiency of around 492.64 MFLOP/s per watt, while the Mole-8.5 achieved efficiency of 431.88 MFLOP/s per watt.

The top three green supercomputers were IBM supercomputers, all in Germany. The supercomputers include PowerXCell 8i processors from IBM, with custom field-programmable gate array accelerators to boost application performance. The supercomputers were also the top three in the previous list issued in November.

Overall, IBM chips were used in six of the top eight green supercomputers.

There is growing interest in building supercomputers that use graphics processors along with CPUs. GPUs are typically faster than traditional CPUs at executing certain tasks, such as those used in scientific and computing applications. Some institutions like the Tokyo Institute of Technology have announced plans to deploy more GPUs in an effort to squeeze more performance out of servers.