New superconductor microprocessor yields a substantial boost in efficiency
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Re: New superconductor microprocessor yields a substantial boost in efficiency
#2Until you account for the energy required to get it that cold
Re: New superconductor microprocessor yields a substantial boost in efficiency
#3Until you account for the energy required to get it that cold
Subtitle from the link:
> The 2.5 GHz prototype uses 80 times less energy than its semiconductor counterpart, even accounting for cooling
(emphasis mine)
Re: New superconductor microprocessor yields a substantial boost in efficiency
#4Until you account for the energy required to get it that cold
Subtitle from the link: > The 2.5 GHz prototype uses 80 times less energy than its semiconductor counterpart, even accounting for cooling (emphasis mine)
Yeah, but only at datacenter scales.
> Since the MANA microprocessor requires liquid helium-level temperatures, it’s better suited for large-scale computing infrastructures like data centers and supercomputers, where cryogenic cooling systems could be used.
Re: New superconductor microprocessor yields a substantial boost in efficiency
#5Earlier quoted context omitted.
Subtitle from the link: > The 2.5 GHz prototype uses 80 times less energy than its semiconductor counterpart, even accounting for cooling (emphasis mine)
Yeah, but only at datacenter scales. > Since the MANA microprocessor requires liquid helium-level temperatures, it’s better suited for large-scale computing infrastructures like data centers and supercomputers, where cryogenic cooling systems could be used.
I'd be curious what the energy savings are like at smaller scales -- 80x at data center scales, but how about for a smaller machine, like a PC with phase cooling?
Re: New superconductor microprocessor yields a substantial boost in efficiency
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
Subtitle from the link: > The 2.5 GHz prototype uses 80 times less energy than its semiconductor counterpart, even accounting for cooling (emphasis mine)
Yeah, but only at datacenter scales. > Since the MANA microprocessor requires liquid helium-level temperatures, it’s better suited for large-scale computing infrastructures like data centers and supercomputers, where cryogenic cooling systems could be used.
So great for big computing centres and such? CERN and other should be happy with it.
Re: New superconductor microprocessor yields a substantial boost in efficiency
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, but only at datacenter scales. > Since the MANA microprocessor requires liquid helium-level temperatures, it’s better suited for large-scale computing infrastructures like data centers and supercomputers, where cryogenic cooling systems could be used.
I'd be curious what the energy savings are like at smaller scales -- 80x at data center scales, but how about for a smaller machine, like a PC with phase cooling?
I would expect the cooling to have a scaling advantage-- heat gain is proportional to surface area, but the mount of superconducting mojo you can use is proportional to volume so it should be more energy efficient to build larger devices.
Re: New superconductor microprocessor yields a substantial boost in efficiency
#8Huh, this seemed a bit too good to be true on first reading. But given that the limits on computing power tend to thermal, and that a superconducting computer presumably wouldn't produce any heat at all, it does kind of make sense.
Re: New superconductor microprocessor yields a substantial boost in efficiency
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, but only at datacenter scales. > Since the MANA microprocessor requires liquid helium-level temperatures, it’s better suited for large-scale computing infrastructures like data centers and supercomputers, where cryogenic cooling systems could be used.
I'd be curious what the energy savings are like at smaller scales -- 80x at data center scales, but how about for a smaller machine, like a PC with phase cooling?
The authors' power comparison is outlined in Section VI of their paper [0] (page 11-12). You might be able to figure out some intermediate scalings from that!
[0] - https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=929...
Re: New superconductor microprocessor yields a substantial boost in efficiency
#10Given the cooling requirements, I suppose it would create completely impassable rift between datacenter computing and other kinds. Imagine how programming and operating systems might look in a world where processing power is 80x cheaper.
Considering that "data centers alone consume 2% of world's enegy", I think it's worth it.