QPACE

QPACE ( QCD Parallel Computing on the Cell - a very fast microprocessor ) denotes a current project with the aim to obtain a particularly effective, massively parallel, scalable supercomputer, which is dedicated to applications in quantum chromodynamics and lattice QCD. The computer has the structure of a three-dimensional torus of identical node computer. The node computer based on the model developed by IBM microprocessor PowerXCell 8i.

The node computer ( 4608 pieces) are all coupled to each other; namely by an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) based on the Xilinx Virtex- 5, which is an optimized network processor is attached to the PowerXCell 8i.

The three existing identical QPACE supercomputer at Forschungszentrum Jülich, at the University of Regensburg and the University of Wuppertal available since November 2009 at the top of the list Green500 (this is the list of machines that are characterized by specific energy - efficiency) and occupy at the same time the ranks of 110, 111 and 112 in the list of fastest supercomputers ever, the list Top500.

Each of the three QPACE computer has as a node computer 3.2 GHz PowerXCell 8i processors, which are housed in four so-called " racks ".

QPACE reached 43 TFLOPS, with a power consumption of 59.49 KW.