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System X is a supercomputer assembled by Virginia Tech in the summer of 2003, comprising 1,100 Apple PowerMac G5 computers. The supercomputer's name (pronounced "System Ten") originates from the use of the Mac OS X operating system for each node, and because it was the first university computer to achieve 10 teraflops on the high performance LINPACK benchmark. On November 16, 2003, it was ranked by the TOP500 list as the third-fastest supercomputer in the world. It is touted as "the world’s most powerful and cheapest homebuilt supercomputer." [1]
System X was constructed with a relatively low budget of just $5.2 million, in the span of only three months, gained in large part because it used off-the-shelf G5 computers with dual-2.0 GHz processors. (By comparison, the fastest contemporary supercomputer, Earth Simulator, cost approximately $400 million to build.)
As of FebruaryFebruary is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 28 days in regular years. In leap years February has 29 days. Three times in history a February 30 did occur. February was named for the Roman god Februus, the god of purification. 20042004 is a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 2004 calendar), and has also been designated the: International Year of Rice International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition Elections are to be held in 73 co, Virginia Tech planned to upgrade its computer to Apple's newly-released XserveApple Computer introduced the original Xserve in May 2002. Apple classifies the Xserve as "a high-density, 1 U rackmount server that was applauded for its value and versatility. The Xserve came with one or two PowerPC G4 processors running at 1. It had up G5 servers. System X will be followed by System L (50 teraflops) and System C (100 teraflops.)