Supercomputer superpower China takes biggest lead over US in 25 years
But China still has a decade to go in catching up in software for the machines, scientist says
China has extended its lead over the United States in supercomputing supremacy, claiming a much bigger share of the world’s fastest machines.
China had 202 of the world’s 500 fastest supercomputers compared with the US total of 143, the fewest American machines on the TOP500 list since it was first compiled a quarter of a century ago.
The result, released on Monday, is a reversal of the rankings in May when the US had 169 of the top 500 and China 159. In June last year China had 167 of the systems while the US had 165.
The list, produced twice a year, rates supercomputers based on speed in a benchmark test by specialists from Germany and the US.
China’s Sunway TaihuLight and Tianhe-2 are the two fastest supercomputers in the rankings, with Switzerland taking third place, Japan fourth and the US fifth.
The Sunway TaihuLight has been the world’s fastest since last year and was the first machine of its kind completely made in China to take the top spot. It runs at a speed of 93 petaflops, while the US Department of Energy’s Titan performs at 17.6 petaflops.