Two Chinese Supercomputers Break Exascale Barrier

[mardiyah]

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/two-chinese-exascale-supercomputers

[DeathArrow]

I'm wondering how did they evade US imposed sanctions? Did they ordered the CPUs long time ago? Are the CPUs using an old process node? Something else?

[throwaway4good → DeathArrow]

I believe they use Phytium chips. Phytium is a Chinese chip designer which specialize in HPC using ARM cores.

[throwaway4good → throwaway4good]

They were added to the ever growing sanction list this year:

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tech/Semiconductors/Taiwan-...

[throwaway4good → throwaway4good]

My guess it is too late to prevent Chinese progress in any meaningful way.

As of now they can probably fab in chips in adequate resolution using Chinese fabs.

[DeathArrow → throwaway4good]

They are limited to 28nm process nodes - of which I think they don't have a very large capacity and they hope to be able to use 14nm the next year.

They are also trying to somehow implement EUV but they have missing pieces.

[throwaway4good → DeathArrow]

SMIC surely has the capacity and does higher resolution than 28nm.

Are you referring to "pure Chinese" fabs with all Chinese equipment?

[throwaway4good → DeathArrow]

I don't believe any of the Phytium processors are fabbed with EUV.

[mytailorisrich → throwaway4good]

This was in April so it's most likely that they had already delivered the chips for this, and in fact those new sanctions are most likely a response to US intelligence on their progress.

[mytailorisrich → DeathArrow]

"Both systems are reportedly based on China's homegrown Phytium and Sunway processors and therefore do not use crucial technologies developed outside of Tianxia."

[jhvkjhk → mytailorisrich]

This sentence is so confusing because "Tianxia" means "the Earth" in Chinese. Surely those systems don't use outer space technology!

[eunos → jhvkjhk]

You sure about that? wink

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-hundred-meter_Aperture_Sp...

exists for a reason you know wink

[DeathArrow → mytailorisrich]

But those CPUs still need to be manufactured somewhere. And it isn't efficient do build up a super computer using CPUs fabbed on an old process node.

[mytailorisrich → DeathArrow]

Right but I believe that the sanctions on Phytium came after they got hose new chips, and probably as a response to them.

If those chips are in production in a new supercomputer now it means that they took delivery of them last year or early this year at the latest, IMHO.