Energy inefficiency forces an early retirement of '09 record holder super computer

There is lots of press around that the IBM Roadrunner supercomputer at Los Alamos National Laboratory is being turned off.

First Petaflop Supercomputer, 'Roadrunner,' Decommissioned

PC Magazine
7 hours ago
Written by
David Murphy

The one I found most useful is the Arstechnica article where the energy efficiency is mentioned.


Given the high power consumption it would seem most likely this is the actual power draw, not the additional power for the cooling system.  A pre-2009 super computer would most likely have over 50% for the cooling system, so this could easily be 3.5MW of power.

Supercomputers are regularly rated on its energy use.  And, the author highlights there is a need for a better performance per watt.
