China has the most powerful supercomputer in the world, without Nvidia
China’s new supercomputer LineShine has reached the top of the global Top500 list, displacing the USA. The system only uses classic processors instead of special AI chips. This shows new paths, but also has limits.
China regains first place
The National Supercomputing Center in Shenzhen has taken the lead in the Top500 list of the fastest supercomputers in the world with the LineShine system. With a performance of 2,198 exaflops, the computer pushed the previous leader El Capitan from the USA into second place (one exaflop corresponds to one trillion floating point operations per second). This means that China is back at the top of the global rankings for the first time since 2017.
LineShine’s architecture differs significantly from that of its western competitors. The construct completely dispenses with GPUs from manufacturers such as Nvidia or AMD. Instead, the computer is based on 20,480 nodes, which are equipped with specially developed LX2 processors. The components use the architecture of the British company ARM. The Linux distribution KylinOS is used as the operating system.
Focus on CPU instead of GPU
As Reuters reported, analysts see the result as a sign of China’s growing independence in hardware development. The US government has imposed strict export controls on cutting-edge technology in recent years, but as is often the case, necessity is the mother of invention. By using classic main processors that directly integrate vector and matrix calculations, China circumvents the embargo. They rely on their own manufacturing capacities and local supply chains to maintain the construction of such mainframe computers. The design brings with it specific properties. The system is optimally designed for classic scientific tasks such as climate models or physical simulations that require a high level of mathematical precision.
However, for modern artificial intelligence applications, specialized AI accelerators are more efficient. It should be noted that private technology companies such as Google or xAI generally do not take part in the standardized benchmark tests of the Top500. The ranking therefore does not include all existing hardware clusters. The focus of commercial providers is usually on closed systems that are not accessible for public comparisons. What do you think of the current developments in the field of supercomputers? Feel free to discuss the topic with us in the comments below! See also:
