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The RTX 4090 Video Card from NVIDIA, Released in 2022, Is Capable of Surpassing the IBM Blue Gene/L Supercomputer, Released in 2004. Understand How This Comparison Works!
According to the portal JeuxVideo, the NVIDIA RTX 4090 surpasses the highest-rated IBM supercomputer from 2004 in terms of raw computing power. Even though it is a video card, a significantly smaller device, the RTX card comes with computing power greater than that of the Blue Gene/L.
IBM Supercomputer Was Equipped with 32,768 Processors
The IBM supercomputer project was launched in 1999 and was discontinued in 2015. In 2004, the Blue Gene/L reached first place on the TOP500.org list, standing out for its processing power. The IBM supercomputer was equipped with 32,768 processors and a colossal memory of 16 TB, marking a milestone in technology at the time.
According to the portal JeuxVideo, the IBM supercomputer had a raw performance power of 70.72 TFLOPS. Apart from its impressive storage capacity, the Nvidia RTX 4090 surpasses this supercomputer in nearly all other aspects.
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The Nvidia RTX 4090 reaches up to 83 TFLOPS, and some experiments have shown that it can reach 100 TFLOPS when pushed to the limit.
Thus, even being a smaller device, it has greater raw computational capacity. However, the video card doesn’t stop there. By combining the power of four cards with FP8 support, it can rival the Jaguar, the most powerful supercomputer of 2009, which achieved 1,750 TFLOPS. This represents unimaginable power that fits in the palm of your hand. With the ongoing advancement of technology, it is likely that even more powerful and compact units will appear in the future.
Meet the 50 Series of the RTX Video Card That Surpasses the IBM Model
In the past year, rumors indicated that the GeForce RTX 4090 would cease production in October, making way for the new RTX 5090, officially announced during the CES 2025. Production of the RTX 4070, 4060, and 4060Ti is expected to be terminated by the first quarter of 2025.
Although it launched with limited availability, the 50 series cards bring up to a 20% performance increase over the previous generation. This indicates that future comparisons with past supercomputers would be even more impressive.
Led by its AI segment, NVIDIA achieved record revenue profit in the third quarter of 2024. Just to give you an idea, Microsoft acquired nearly 500,000 NVIDIA Hopper GPUs for AI in 2024.
In the 50 series, NVIDIA integrated AI-based technologies for users, notably MultiFrame Generation, which allows generating up to three additional frames for each traditional frame, and Frame Warp, which can reduce latency by up to 75%.
What Is the Most Powerful Supercomputer in 2025?
Setting aside the IBM supercomputer, it is important to mention that this January, the fastest supercomputer in the world was finally officially launched. Named “El Capitan,” the computer cost US$ 600 million to build and is under the responsibility of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California.
The supercomputer will be responsible for handling several very sensitive tasks, including protecting the nuclear weapon stockpile of the United States in the absence of underground testing, as reported by representatives of LLNL. Additionally, its research will focus on national security, encompassing material discovery, high-energy density physics, nuclear data, and weapon design.
Construction of the supercomputer began in May 2023, and it was first put into operation in November. Its official inauguration occurred on January 9, highlighting its great processing power.
Source: IGN
A comparação é justamente para mostrar como em 20 anos o poder computacional cresceu brutalmente ao ponto de uma GPU (fisicamente muito menor) ser tão potente quanto um super computador.
Comparação totalmente injusta… Materia ****
Em alguns anos com o desenvolvimento da computação quântica um computador singular vai ser ser ainda muito superior aos atuais do que a comparação dos de hoje com os de 2004