Cray-1 resurfaces in pieces on eBay
The stories it could tell. But then it would have to kill you
Posted in HPC, 24th May 2010 23:49 GMT
Free whitepaper – Enabling Datacenter and Cloud Service Management for Mid-Tier Enterprises
What are the odds that two different sellers on both sides of the Pond would find themselves peddling some of the processing modules of the original Cray-1 vector supercomputer?
The probability would be 1.
A chap in the United Kingdom put up one of the original Cray-1 gate array modules on the UK eBay site for £550 on May 17, and no one bid on it. This seller claims that the Cray 1 module came from the very first Cray-1 super, which was installed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1976 after a bidding war with Lawrence Livermore National Lab. This original Cray-1 was shipped off to the European Weather Centre in the UK, and then absorbed into the bowels of a UK government site for heaven only knows what purpose.
The Cray-1 vector supercomputer: Still the coolest HPC of all time, unless you like Der Blinken Lights.
Over at FutureBots in the States, Dan Mathais — who sells electronic components and has a huge collection of vintage PCs, minis, and supercomputers as well as toy robots — also has a Cray-1 module for sale here on eBay for $1,000.
That's a pretty expensive paperweight. But, then again, exercise equipment is an expensive clothes line, as well. ®
Free whitepaper – Enabling Datacenter and Cloud Service Management for Mid-Tier Enterprises
Enabling Datacenter and Cloud Service Management for Mid-Tier Enterprises
The Register 2007 Tech Barometer
The Register Guide to iSCSI
The Impact of IT Security Attitudes
The Register guide to unified communications
ARM+GPU = dream super?
Nvidia's Maximus: Hard-core 3D graphics on speed
Get your bi-weekly
HPC newsletter
HPC Analyst Blog
Whitepapers, video and audio resources
Reg Forums: Join the conversation
