I Tried To Buy A Supercomputer...

SomeOrdinaryGamers
4 May 202411:24

Summary

TLDRIn this video, the creator, Mudahar, discusses his attempt to purchase the Cheyenne supercomputer from GSA Auctions, which ultimately failed due to the high final bid of $480,000 and logistical challenges. He had considered buying the supercomputer for collaborative content creation with other YouTubers, showcasing its capabilities and the infeasibility of breaking encryption with such power. The video also touches on the supercomputer's specs, including its 4,032 dual socket units, 8,064 processors, and 313,000 USD daily operational cost. Mudahar highlights the use of supercomputers in various fields like quantum mechanics, weather forecasting, and climate research. He also mentions the Condor supercluster, a military supercomputer built from 1,760 PlayStation 3s running Linux. Despite the Cheyenne's decommissioning due to memory failure issues, Mudahar reflects on the supercomputer's historical significance and the decision to sell it for parts rather than personal use.

Takeaways

  • 💻 The speaker, Mudahar, discusses his attempt to buy a supercomputer from GSA Auctions, specifically the Cheyenne supercomputer.
  • 🚫 Mudahar was unable to purchase the supercomputer due to timing issues and challenges in setting up accounts for such a large purchase.
  • 💰 The final bid for the Cheyenne supercomputer was $480,000, which Mudahar considered not worth the time and effort.
  • 🤝 Mudahar had considered collaborating with other YouTubers to purchase and operate the supercomputer, but the timing was not feasible.
  • 🔒 The purpose of buying the supercomputer was to create content around its capabilities, such as attempting to break encryption.
  • 🎮 He also wanted to demonstrate the impracticality of gaming on a supercomputer due to software limitations.
  • 📦 The Cheyenne supercomputer came with 14 units, each weighing 1,500 lb, and had a high operational cost.
  • 💡 The supercomputer had 4,032 dual socket units with 8,064 processors E5 2697 v4s, each an 18-core processor with base frequencies of 2.3 GHz.
  • ⚙️ Supercomputers are used for complex tasks like quantum mechanics, weather forecasting, oil and gas exploration, and climate research.
  • 🌐 The world's fastest supercomputers run on Linux, highlighting the operating system's role in high-performance computing.
  • 📈 The US Air Force once used 1,760 PlayStation 3 systems to create a supercomputing cluster, demonstrating the versatility of Linux in distributed computing.
  • 🔍 The Cheyenne supercomputer was decommissioned due to increasing failure rates and was sold off for parts, marking the end of its operational life.

Q & A

  • What was the final bid for the Cheyenne supercomputer?

    -The final bid for the Cheyenne supercomputer was $480,000.

  • Why did Mudahar consider buying the supercomputer?

    -Mudahar considered buying the supercomputer to create content around it, such as demonstrating the infeasibility of breaking encryption with it and possibly showing gaming on a supercomputer.

  • What were some of the challenges Mudahar faced in attempting to purchase the supercomputer?

    -Challenges included timing issues, setting up accounts for purchasing, obtaining the necessary financial information, and the difficulty of spending such a large sum of money on the auction.

  • What is the purpose of supercomputers according to the video?

    -Supercomputers are used for tasks that require massive computational power, such as quantum mechanics, weather forecasting, oil and gas exploration, and climate research.

  • Why did the US Air Force use PlayStation 3 systems to create a supercomputer cluster?

    -The US Air Force used PlayStation 3 systems because they were capable of running Linux and could be connected to create a distributed supercomputer cluster, which was cost-effective and efficient for their needs.

  • What is the significance of the 'other OS' feature on the PlayStation 3?

    -The 'other OS' feature allowed users to install Linux onto the PlayStation 3, enabling it to be used as a part of a distributed supercomputing cluster, as demonstrated by the US Air Force's Condor supercluster.

  • Why was the Cheyenne supercomputer decommissioned?

    -The Cheyenne supercomputer was decommissioned because the failure rate, particularly with the memory, had started to increase, indicating it was time to rely on more powerful supercomputers.

  • What are the top supercomputers in the world as of November 2023?

    -As of November 2023, the top supercomputers in the world are primarily located in the United States, with the top one belonging to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and others in Japan, Finland, Italy, and Spain.

  • Why did Mudahar ultimately decide against purchasing the Cheyenne supercomputer?

    -Mudahar decided against purchasing the Cheyenne supercomputer due to the high cost, the time it would take to set up the purchase, and the potential that the buyer could make more profit by selling the parts instead.

  • What is the total number of cores in the Cheyenne supercomputer?

    -The Cheyenne supercomputer has a total of 4,152 cores.

  • How much would it cost per day to operate the Cheyenne supercomputer based on current electrical prices?

    -Based on current electrical prices, it would cost approximately $313,000 per day to operate the Cheyenne supercomputer.

  • What is the significance of the top 500 list in the context of supercomputers?

    -The top 500 list is a ranking of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, providing insight into the current state of supercomputing technology and its advancements.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Failed Attempt to Purchase a Supercomputer

The speaker, Mudahar, discusses his unsuccessful endeavor to buy a supercomputer from the US auction website, GSA Auctions. He had considered purchasing the Cheyenne supercomputer for content creation, specifically to demonstrate the impracticality of breaking encryption with such powerful systems. The final bid for the supercomputer was $480,000, which Mudahar deemed not worth the time and effort required to set up the necessary accounts and finances. He also touches upon the logistical challenges of shipping and powering the supercomputer, which has 4,032 dual socket units and 8,064 processors. The operational costs were estimated to be $313,000 per day, based on current electricity prices, which further dissuaded him from the purchase.

05:00

🌟 The Power and Purpose of Supercomputers

Mudahar provides an overview of the top supercomputers in the world, as listed in the November 2023 top 500 list. He mentions the leading supercomputer at Oakridge National Laboratory, which has approximately 8.7 million cores. Supercomputers are used for complex tasks such as quantum mechanics, weather forecasting, oil and gas exploration, and climate research, running numerous simulations in parallel. The speaker highlights that these powerful machines run entirely on Linux and shares an anecdote about the US Air Force using 1,760 PlayStation 3 systems to create a supercomputer cluster capable of 500 teraflops. He also mentions the decommissioning of the Cheyenne supercomputer due to increasing failure rates, suggesting that its parts might be more valuable sold separately.

10:02

💸 The Economics of Buying a Supercomputer

Reflecting on the decision not to purchase the Cheyenne supercomputer, Mudahar emphasizes the impracticality of investing half a million dollars for a project that was initially considered more as a novelty or for content creation. He acknowledges that the supercomputer's high starting bid of $50 quickly escalated, and despite the potential for creating engaging content, the time and financial investment outweighed the benefits. The speaker concludes by stating that supercomputers are fascinating and that he may consider building a smaller-scale system in the future. He ends the video with a note on the Cheyenne supercomputer's legacy and the ever-evolving world of supercomputing.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Supercomputer

A supercomputer is a high-performance computer that ranks among the fastest in the world. It is designed to process complex calculations and simulations at speeds that are significantly greater than those of general-purpose computers. In the video, the Cheyenne supercomputer is the central focus, with discussions on its capabilities, auction, and potential uses.

💡GSA Auctions

GSA Auctions is a U.S. auction website where the host, Mudahar, discovered the Cheyenne supercomputer was up for sale. The auction represents a platform where government surplus, including high-value items like supercomputers, can be purchased by the public, which is a key part of the video's narrative.

💡Distributed Computing

Distributed computing involves using a network of computers to perform tasks that are too large for a single machine. In the context of the video, the Cheyenne supercomputer's ability to break encryption and perform complex simulations is attributed to its distributed computing capabilities, highlighting the power of multiple processors working in tandem.

💡Encryption

Encryption is the process of encoding data or information to ensure its security, making it unreadable to unauthorized users. The video discusses the idea of using a supercomputer to demonstrate the difficulty of breaking encryption, emphasizing the security measures that protect personal information from unauthorized access.

💡Water Cooling System

A water cooling system is a method used to cool computer components, particularly in high-performance systems like supercomputers. In the video, the Cheyenne supercomputer's water cooling system is mentioned, indicating the level of sophistication required to maintain the computer's operational temperatures.

💡Dual Socket Units

Dual socket units refer to computer components that have two sockets, which can house two central processing units (CPUs) each. The video mentions that the Cheyenne supercomputer has 4,032 dual socket units, which significantly contributes to its high computational power.

💡Processors E5 2697 v4s

The processors E5 2697 v4s are specific models of CPUs designed for high-performance computing. The video states that the Cheyenne supercomputer is equipped with these processors, each featuring 18 cores and capable of turboing up to 3.6 GHz, which is crucial for its supercomputing status.

💡Memory

In the context of computing, memory refers to the storage capacity of a computer system. The video mentions that each node of the Cheyenne supercomputer has 64 gigabytes of memory, totaling significant computational resources and contributing to its ability to handle large-scale data processing tasks.

💡Decommissioned

Decommissioning refers to the process of retiring a piece of equipment or infrastructure from service. The Cheyenne supercomputer was decommissioned due to increasing failure rates, as mentioned in the video, which led to its parts being sold off, marking the end of its operational life.

💡Top 500 List

The Top 500 List is a ranking of the fastest supercomputers in the world, updated twice a year. The video references this list to provide context on the global landscape of supercomputing and the relative power of the Cheyenne supercomputer compared to others.

💡Linux

Linux is an open-source operating system widely used in supercomputing due to its flexibility and stability. The video discusses how the world's fastest supercomputers run on Linux and shares an anecdote about the U.S. Air Force using Linux on PlayStation 3 systems to create a supercomputer cluster.

Highlights

Mudahar discusses his attempt to buy a supercomputer from GSA Auctions.

The Cheyenne supercomputer was up for auction, with a final bid of $480,000.

Mudahar considered buying the supercomputer to collaborate with other YouTubers.

The process of setting up accounts for purchasing was time-consuming and challenging.

Breaking encryption with a supercomputer was a topic Mudahar wanted to showcase.

Gaming on a supercomputer is not as exciting due to software limitations.

The Cheyenne supercomputer has 4,032 dual socket units and 8,064 processors.

Operating the supercomputer would cost approximately $313,000 per day based on current electrical prices.

The buyer is likely to dismantle the supercomputer for parts and sell them for profit.

Supercomputers are used for complex tasks such as quantum mechanics and climate research.

The top supercomputers in the world are listed on the TOP500 list.

The US Air Force once used 1,760 PlayStation 3 systems to create a supercomputer cluster.

The Cheyenne supercomputer was decommissioned due to increasing failure rates.

Mudahar considered the purchase more of a 'meme' but was deterred by the cost and effort.

Supercomputers are constantly evolving, with new models offering greater power and efficiency.

Mudahar expresses interest in building a smaller-scale supercomputer in the future.

The Cheyenne supercomputer's sale represents a shift from its historical significance to a practical end.

Transcripts

00:00

hello guys and gals me mudahar and today

00:02

I wanted to talk about me failing to buy

00:05

a

00:06

supercomputer yeah you heard that right

00:08

ladies and gentlemen now you're looking

00:10

at a US auction website right over here

00:13

called GSA Auctions all right now if

00:16

you're looking at this this is the

00:17

Cheyenne supercomputer and if you've

00:20

been following you know computer stuff

00:22

for the last couple days you might have

00:24

noticed that amongst all of the things

00:26

available to buy was a supercomputer so

00:29

for most people following these days the

00:32

rap beef between two rappers is kind of

00:34

the news but for me trying to purchase a

00:36

supercomputer was something that was

00:38

seriously in my

00:40

considerations and I failed so to give

00:42

you an idea of it this is the current

00:44

bid for it the final bid

00:48

$480,000 for the Cheyenne superc Compu

00:50

and it's been met and this computer's

00:52

been sold this is something that I was

00:54

seriously considering to the point where

00:56

I wanted to purchase it alongside or

00:58

purchase it for myself but really wanted

01:00

to work with other YouTubers as well I

01:01

sented a few messages to lonus Tech

01:04

group uh a few of the other Tech

01:06

channels right here just to see if

01:08

anybody could facilitate if I could just

01:10

buy this computer and somebody may have

01:12

had the space and the power requirements

01:15

to run something like this unfortunately

01:18

the timing was too little to set up the

01:20

accounts for purchasing this was already

01:22

a nuisance in of itself you needed to

01:24

get like all of your information your

01:26

fin tracks everything to go and honestly

01:30

the ability to get this much money on a

01:33

dime was a challenge in of itself

01:37

spending half a million dollars to

01:39

purchase the Cheyenne supercomputer was

01:41

just really not worth the time now from

01:44

a money perspective honestly buying this

01:47

the whole point of us to purchase this

01:48

was to make like a bit of content out of

01:50

it to show people things like breaking

01:53

encryption using a supercomputer and how

01:55

infeasible it is even if you have some

01:58

of the most top-of-the-line syst systems

02:00

out there and using all the distributed

02:02

computing possible it would show you

02:04

that breaking encryptions and various

02:06

easily accured security like practices

02:09

was almost an impossibility right even

02:12

with the Cheyenne supercomputer or a lot

02:14

of supercomputers in general breaking

02:16

things like encryption which keeps a lot

02:18

of your personal information private and

02:20

secure from not just me you various

02:23

prying eyes but multiple governments is

02:25

something that I wanted to Showcase and

02:27

amongst else I wanted to kind of show

02:29

you how gaming on a supercomputer was

02:31

going to happen even though gaming on a

02:33

supercomputer is really not that

02:35

exciting okay when you take one node out

02:38

of these supercomputers the software

02:40

just doesn't really translate that well

02:42

over to something that is supposed to be

02:44

designed to distribute its Computing so

02:46

to give you an idea the cheyen

02:48

supercomputer the water cooling system

02:50

basically this whole thing came with 14

02:54

different units weighing 1,500 lb each

02:57

so the whole problem was to grab this

02:59

thing and also ship it over to Canada or

03:01

potentially a warehouse that we would

03:03

have probably gotten somewhere in the

03:04

United States anyways and then of course

03:06

beyond all of it they ended up giving

03:09

4,032 dual socket units right nodes and

03:13

of course

03:14

8,064 processors E5 2697 v4s all right

03:19

and of course these are 18 core

03:21

processors each with 2.3 GHz base

03:23

frequencies turboing up to 3.6 GHz as

03:27

well total corewise you're looking at4

03:31

4,152 cores okay as far as memory goes

03:35

boys and girls you've got 64 gigs per

03:38

node basically totaling to

03:53

313,000 us per day from my understanding

03:57

based on current electrical prices to

04:00

operate this computer so asides from

04:02

purchasing this for a meme look some

04:04

people like to buy Ferraris and Lambos

04:06

and mansions me this would have been a

04:09

great buy if it wasn't for the fact that

04:11

it got priced out to no Oblivion now the

04:13

person that did end up buying this I

04:16

highly understand that they're probably

04:17

going to take this thing gut it for

04:19

parts and sell it and they'll actually

04:21

make a profit out out of it the problem

04:23

is is we kind of considered that here

04:25

but the thing is it just took way too

04:27

much time out of our days to even

04:28

consider doing that so honestly a lot

04:31

easier to make money in other capacities

04:33

versus trying to pimp out and price out

04:36

and basically Chop Shop a super computer

04:39

even though that also in retrospect

04:41

would have been a pretty Banger video to

04:43

talk about okay to chop shop an entire

04:45

former US supercomputer now

04:48

supercomputers are without a doubt

04:50

constantly evolving and one thing that

04:53

it's worth looking at if you ever are

04:55

interested in a topic like this is the

04:57

top 500 list so according in November

05:00

2023 the top 10 which is the top 10

05:03

supercomputers in the entire world right

05:05

now are all categorized in a list so for

05:08

instance in the top supercomputer that

05:11

belongs to Oakridge National Laboratory

05:13

okay and that is in the United States

05:16

and they are looking at

05:18

8.6 basically 8.7 million cores okay and

05:22

the power requirements on this are AST

05:24

nomical so yeah that's a lot of

05:26

godamn cores available and the pedop

05:29

flops which again these are really

05:31

really fast computers really really

05:33

designed for distributed work that's

05:35

what they're listed at so of course the

05:38

top three are located in the United

05:40

States after that you get to the fugaku

05:42

in Japan you get to the Lumi in Finland

05:44

then Italy the US Spain in the United

05:46

States again the US kind of holds a

05:49

monopoly on a lot of these

05:50

supercomputers so at least the top ones

05:52

that are available now you might be

05:53

wondering but muda why would anybody

05:55

need to use a supercomputer for okay

05:57

what is the use for something this

05:59

goddamn powerful does it allow you to do

06:02

like crazy things like simulate entire

06:04

worlds within no supercomputers are used

06:07

for things like quantum mechanics

06:09

forecasting the weather oil and gas

06:11

exploration and climate research so the

06:14

way that these things work is they're

06:15

designed to run multiple simulations

06:17

upon simulations upon simulations and

06:20

using the distributed power and the

06:21

available power already we're able to

06:23

simulate a bunch of things that

06:25

supercomputers are able to do with the

06:27

amount of actual processing that they

06:29

are capable of when you distribute all

06:31

of it now the thing is all of the

06:33

supercomputers or at least the world's

06:35

fastest ones also run entirely on Linux

06:38

and one of the things about Linux is

06:40

supercomputing is such a weird form

06:43

where to an extent even the United

06:45

States military when they wanted to

06:47

build a supercomputer cluster the US Air

06:50

Force had purchased

06:52

1,700 and 60 PlayStation and three

06:55

systems to use them to build a

06:58

distributed supercomputer Computing

06:59

cluster so if you don't know the story

07:01

of the Condor super cluster this image

07:03

is a little low resolution but these are

07:06

all PlayStation 3s basically lined up

07:08

connected to each other all designed to

07:11

run in parallel and create what is a

07:14

super computer cluster and that is the

07:16

PlayStation 3 system so back in the day

07:19

when the PS3 dropped it came with a

07:21

feature known as other OS which allowed

07:23

users to install Linux onto it so the

07:25

Army before this feature was taken away

07:28

by Sony they had BAS basically installed

07:30

Linux connected these devices together

07:32

and created a super Computing cluster

07:34

that they used in the Army and

07:37

apparently it became a pretty

07:39

good supercomputer to the point where it

07:41

was able to Output 500 Tera flops and

07:44

this is back in 2010 that this was

07:46

reported so it's actually kind of funny

07:49

too because when you look at the history

07:50

of supercomputing in Sony this wasn't

07:52

the first time any military was alleged

07:54

to use it back in the day a group a news

07:58

site known as the World Net daily had I

08:00

guess falsely reported that 4,000

08:03

PlayStation 2 systems were being bought

08:05

up by Saddam Hussein I made a

08:08

video on this like probably six years

08:10

ago where I talked about this whole

08:12

story but the idea was it was alleged

08:14

that Saddam had purchased all these

08:16

PlayStation 2 supercomputers or

08:18

Playstation 2 systems basically got

08:20

Linux installed from my understanding

08:22

and Jerry rigged it together to make a

08:24

PlayStation 2 era supercomputer and

08:27

according to euro daily at the time what

08:29

they had basically said World Net Daily

08:32

was that a single PlayStation can

08:34

generate up to 75 million polygons per

08:37

second so again these are extremely

08:40

useful in military design and modeling

08:42

applications bundled PlayStation

08:44

computers can be used to calculate

08:46

ballistic data for long range missiles

08:49

or in the design of nuclear weapons dude

08:52

but one of the claims that apparently

08:54

they made was an integrated bundle of 12

08:56

to 15 PlayStations could provide enough

08:59

computing power to control an Iraqi

09:02

unmanned aerial vehicle or

09:05

UAV God damn nowadays an iPhone could

09:09

probably part control multiple uavs for

09:12

crying out loud but these were one of

09:14

those hoaxes that people just like to

09:16

laugh at but going back to the cheyen

09:18

supercomputer it was decommissioned and

09:21

parts of the supercomputer were being

09:23

sold simply because the failure rate had

09:25

started to reach from my understanding

09:27

something with the memory had started to

09:29

cause more failures and at that point it

09:31

was just time to decommission it and

09:33

basically rely on the more powerful

09:35

supercomputers that existed now of

09:37

course in the world of supercomputers

09:39

out there you could buy this for your

09:42

own personal research but I think the

09:43

juice isn't worth the squeeze the person

09:46

buying this could probably get it

09:48

working up and again but it's probably

09:50

worth more to just gut this thing out

09:52

and sell it for parts of that point

09:54

that's the only way that an actual

09:56

investment could probably uh bear fruit

09:59

if if you will on the situation but yeah

10:01

this is actually one thing that we

10:02

wanted to buy but because of obviously

10:05

the meme of it uh but corresponding with

10:09

half a million dollars going towards

10:11

purchasing a supercomputer it just

10:13

wasn't a thing that was going to

10:15

reasonably happen had we probably had

10:17

like a month or two extra on this

10:19

auction maybe we would seriously

10:21

consider it but honestly the fact that

10:24

this thing initially started out and

10:26

like somebody put like a a bid up for

10:28

like 50 bucks

10:29

but it just evolved we all knew this was

10:32

going to sell for like six figures at

10:33

some point so again it really became a

10:35

situation of it's not really worth it to

10:37

go buy this thing even if it is for the

10:39

meme or a little bit for the content um

10:42

and honestly you were just going to get

10:43

out bit anyways by somebody that was

10:45

literally going to chop shop this thing

10:46

up and sell it for parts anyways but

10:49

yeah one of the world's uh most famous

10:52

supercomputers of will to the Cheyenne

10:54

was in news that ended up basically

10:56

being sold off and now it has become a

10:58

gutted chop chopped Legacy of computing

11:01

past but yeah supercomputers are

11:03

interesting and maybe one day we'll

11:05

build something smaller and a much

11:07

smaller scale but yeah something I

11:09

wanted to buy but ultimately time and

11:12

and and money really really prevented us

11:14

from getting access to what is

11:16

ultimately a pretty cool piece of

11:18

history that said ladies and gentlemen

11:20

yeah this is me mudahar and uh yeah I am

11:23

out

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Related Tags
SupercomputerGSA AuctionsContent CreationTech EnthusiastCheyenneDecommissionedBidding ProcessYouTube CollaborationEncryption BreakingDistributed ComputingPower RequirementsTop 500 ListLinux SystemsPlayStation 3 ClusterMilitary SupercomputingComputing History