The computers that we use today is capable of processing major tasks. Although with this high potential, still computers today struggles to handle intense tasks that require extreme processing power. For this purpose, supercomputers are invented.
What is Super Computer ?
A Supercomputer is a system that can solve complicated calculations quickly. Apart from working with weather forecast, nuclear industry and airline industry, a supercomputer can also be used to play video games and render 3D graphics. Especially large scale organizations prefer to use supercomputers due to their supreme computing power.
Although supercomputers are the best option to use in handling complex problems, still it is with some drawbacks. If you are planning to use a supercomputer it will be worth learning the advantages and disadvantages.
In this article, I will be covering about 5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Supercomputer | Drawbacks & Benefits of Supercomputer. Through this post, you will know the pros and cons of using a super computer.
Let's get started,
Advantages of Supercomputer
1. Cost Effective
Companies that use supercomputers saves a lot of time in managing tasks. This not only results in efficiency, it eventually lowers cost in the long run. And also, by using a supercomputer there is no need for the organizations to purchase expensive physical models.
2. Security
A supercomputer offers enhanced protection by decrypting the password. Even passwords used in other devices will be decrypted by a supercomputer. Besides decrypting, a supercomputer can easily guess passwords.
3. Speed
The time a computer takes to process tasks is significantly lesser in a supercomputer. They usually take very less amount of time solving calculations. Compared to a normal computer, this rate is almost 100-1000x lesser. Meaning, a task that takes several hours to complete, can be finished by a supercomputer in a fraction of seconds.
4. Complex Tasks
Complex tasks such as rendering animations can be easily done with the help of a supercomputer. Along with faster rendering, it overall produces a good result.
5. Environment friendly
A supercomputer is environment friendly to some extent by providing a virtualized testing environment for scientific and medical researches. Real-time testing such as nuclear weapon testing is known to cause many hazards to the environment.
Disadvantages of Supercomputer
1. Physical Size
Supercomputers are also physically large in size. Hence, they require lots of space. A supercomputer typically takes more than 1000 square feet of area.
2. Maintenance
An expert staff needs to be appointed for monitoring and administrating a supercomputer. For this purpose, a special software is used which is capable of detecting failures and computer's overall usage.
3. Storage
In order for acquiring the full capacity of a supercomputer, it should be equipped with enough storage space. Whatever the data that is being produced will be accommodated by the storage drive. Therefore, it must be massive enough to store all the data. Without sufficient storage space, the supercomputer simply cannot perform calculations.
4. Heat Release
A supercomputer is equipped with large number of processor all which can generate significant amount of heat during their operations. Due to this heat, most devices tends to get damaged easily. Hence for preventing this, a proper cooling system needs to be installed. Additionally, it is recommended to get the room air conditioned.
5. Power Consumption
Supercomputers typically consume large amount of electricity. On average, a supercomputer requires about 4 megawatts (MW) of electricity. This amount is almost 5000x greater compared to a normal house. All this can lead to an increase in the expense of electricity.
WOW thanks it was helpful
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