One of world's fastest computers at University of Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - It’s the fastest supercomputer in the South, and one of the fastest on planet Earth. It’s called the HiPerGator 2.0. It’s loud, large, and it is fast.  Stephen Orlando, a University of Florida spokesman describes it as, “a pretty remarkable piece of machinery. It really is. We’re incredibly proud of it.”

Launched a few weeks ago, HiPerGator 2.0 is a 30,000 core addition to the original HiPerGator Supercomputer.  The 2.0 is seven times faster than its predecessor. Top500.org lists HiPerGator 2.0 at number 114 among Earth’s fastest computers. “This has enough storage to store every photo on Facebook in the entire world. That’s 20 billion photos, twice as much,” Orlando said.

This new expanded HiPerGator can hold more books than are in the Library of Congress and the top 25 public libraries in the U.S. combined, or almost 40 years of high definition videos. The original HiperGator is so fast, it can process every single U.S. federal income tax return in a fraction of a second.  

So, why have a supercomputer?  Orlando explained, “The answer is so researchers can do the important research that needs to be done, and to tackle those really perplexing questions and puzzles that we face in the world today.”

Questions over issues such as the spreading of disease, poverty, hunger and other scientific questions. Orlando said this $8 million expansion, which came from UF, is expected to make a big mark on research in many disciplines . “When you have this type of equipment to begin applying it to answering those types of questions, the sky’s almost the limit.”