All hail our new leader: the AMD-powered El Capitan will officially become the fastest supercomputer on the planet
- El Capitan is the new world leader in raw computing power
- It is located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
- El Capitan is powered by AMD instinct MI300A APUs
The global supercomputer rankings have a new presence at the top spot, as the AMD-powered El Capitan takes over the top spot to become the world’s most powerful system.
With a sustained computing power of 1.7 exaflops and a peak of over 2.7 exaflops, El Capitan beats former leader Frontier to second place on the list of the most powerful supercomputers in the world.
El Capitan was built by HPE for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to simulate nuclear weapons testing. Powered by AMD instinct MI300A APUs, it is not only the fastest, but also in the top 20 greenest computers.
Calculations reduced from months to weeks
For perspective, El Capitan can complete a task in less than a second that requires one human to perform one calculation every second since the Earth was formed, and then another nine Earths.
The supercomputer will enable LLNL to significantly improve its ability to predict and model nuclear weapons performance as the stockpile ages and new systems are introduced.
This will help LLNL make more informed safety decisions. It will also be deployed on a range of other missions to help understand emergencies such as natural disasters and man-made crises.
It does this by providing higher resolutions in 3D modeling that were not possible with previous machines or were too computationally expensive to use regularly.
More accurate replication of physics allows higher quality component analysis, allowing scientists to integrate more real-world factors such as material and manufacturing imperfections and environmental conditions.
Previously, these calculations were impossible or would take weeks or months on LLNL’s current systems – which has now been reduced to days or even hours.
“Using the AMD Instinct MI300A APUs, we have built a system once unimaginable, pushing the absolute limits of computing performance while maintaining exceptional power efficiency,” said Bronis R. de Supinski, LLNL’s Chief Technology Officer for Livermore Computing.
“As AI becomes more prevalent in our field, El Capitan allows us to integrate AI with our traditional simulation and modeling workloads, opening new avenues for discoveries across scientific disciplines.”
AMD now powers both of the two most powerful supercomputers in the world, with a combined power of more than 3 exaflops, totaling 61% of the performance of the entire top 10.
Of the top 10, AMD now supports five devices, including El Capitan, Frontier, HPC6 from ENI, LUMI and Tuolumne.
“We are thrilled to see El Capitan become the second AMD-powered supercomputer to break the exaflop barrier and become the fastest supercomputer in the world. This breakthrough machine showcases the incredible performance and efficiency of the AMD Instinct MI300 APUs and is a testament to the dedicated work between AMD, LLNL and HPE,” said Forrest Norrod, executive vice president and general manager of AMD.
