## Auction of Cheyenne Supercomputer Reveals Market Dynamics for High-Performance Computing
### Cheyenne Auction Results
On a recent auction held by the US General Services Administration (GSA), the once 20th-ranked supercomputer, Cheyenne, was successfully sold for $480,085. Despite maintenance issues such as water leaks, Cheyenne sparked a bidding war among 27 participants due to its impressive specs, comprising 8,000 Intel Xeon CPUs and 300TB of RAM.
### Supercomputer Accessibility with Supermicro’s Gaudi 2 Servers
For those seeking a more affordable alternative to supercomputer ownership, Supermicro presents the Intel Gaudi 2 servers priced at $90,000. This cost-effective option allows businesses and organizations to harness the power of high-performance computing without the hefty price tag typically associated with such systems.
Server Specifications:
Supermicro’s special configuration includes:
* Supermicro Gaudi 2 system
* 8 Habana Gaudi-2 OAM Mezz cards (8U)
* 2 Intel Xeon Platinum 8368 Processors
* 16x 64GB DDR4-3200 ECC RDIMM
* 2x 960GB NVMe PCIe 4.0 (M.2)
* 2x 7.6TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 (U.2)
* 1 NIC, CX-6 VPI (IB/EN), 100G, Dual Port QSFP56
* System Management Software Suite Node License
* 8 Intel Gaudi 2 OCP OAM Spec v1.3 with heatsink
### Customization and Competitive Pricing
Supermicro offers customization options for its Gaudi 2 Servers, enabling customers to tailor the system to their specific requirements. For customized pricing, interested parties are advised to contact Supermicro directly. Although the server utilizes an Ice Lake Xeon platform and PCIe Gen4, lower-cost DDR4 memory contributes to a competitive price point.
### Intel’s Gaudi 3 and Industry Implications
Intel’s launch of Gaudi 3 in April 2024 indicates ongoing advancements in AI hardware. However, Supermicro’s offering of Gaudi 2 servers at an affordable price makes high-performance computing more accessible to a wider range of organizations.
### Conclusion
The auction of Cheyenne and the availability of Supermicro’s Gaudi 2 Servers highlight the growing demand for high-performance computing solutions. As businesses and organizations seek to leverage AI and other data-intensive applications, affordable and accessible supercomputer technologies play a crucial role in driving innovation and unlocking new possibilities.