The gaming industry is booming today. Humanity, instead of conquering space, is increasingly immersed in the world of computer games. Modern computers are improving only in this direction. What should a modern powerful personal computer look like that is capable of running the latest toys?
Let's try to understand this issue using the data regarding the requirements for applications released in 2015 - 2016. For example, consider the shooter Tom Clancy’s: Division, the strategy game X-Com 2, and the best-selling GTA V. What should a powerful personal computer look like?
Choosing an operating system
It was no coincidence that we started from this point. On the one hand, it is obvious that games that were released in 2016 should only function on new operating systems. These are Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 today. At the same time, the licensed G8 is more and more persistently inviting users to upgrade to Windows 10. In practice, the G8 takes up more resources of a personal computer.
Even the most powerful gaming computer in the world will suffer if it has to give up almost 2.5 GB of RAM to the operating system, and this does not include antiviruses and other secondary, but quite important utilities. The tenth version of the Windows operating system requires even more resources from the computer resources. Reading the requirements for the game, one must remember to add to them the powers that are necessary to maintain the system's performance.
Operative
Quite often, reading reviews for all sorts of computer games, you can stumble upon comments in which players say that even if the system fully meets all the requirements, the game still slows down. We have already figured out that such problems can most likely be associated with a waste of resources on the operating system. But this is not always the case. For example, take the game GTA V. The device requirements explicitly state that 8 GB of RAM is required.
However, at the same time, half of the players' FPS sags. This can of course be related to both the processor and the video card. Practice shows that the greatest effect can be achieved by increasing the amount of RAM to 16 GB. Although this size will not be top-end, it will make it possible to run even demanding computer games on your machine without any problems.
CPU
The most controversial parameter of a computer system. On the one hand, this device can be overclocked to fairly high rates, but on the other hand, it can be noted that even with a complete mismatch of this parameter, computer games can be launched at high settings. Most modern applications require quad-core processors. So, for example, "Division" asks for i7-3770 with a frequency of 3.4 MHz, X-COM-2 - requires any model similar in cores and frequency.
In this case, the computing power of a personal computer plays a rather important role. When purchasing a computer with a margin for the future, you should pay attention to processors that have 6 or more cores. They will, of course, cost four times more than the previously mentioned models. For example, a six-core i7-4960X processor costs about 90,000 rubles. The i7-3770 costs approximately 25,000.
Video card
The main component of any modern computer is a graphics card. The main role here will be played not so much by the memory size as by the clock frequency. Any powerful gaming computer must be equipped with a video card that can quickly handle the graphics component. However, it must also support all modern information processing technologies. In this case, a large amount of memory can be a nice bonus. Recommended requirements in the games we are considering are reduced to GeForce GTX 970, 770, 660 video cards. In general, these models practically do not differ from each other.
If you want to build a powerful personal computer, then the old GTX 660 graphics card will be enough for you. With it you will be able to run most computer games at high settings. Those who want to get the maximum effect are better off choosing something newer. The range of products is not limited here. You can choose the best option from a variety of models from different manufacturers. The choice is often between the video memory frequency and the number of processing processors. If you are a computer technician, it is better to prefer more processors. The frequency can almost always be overclocked to a higher value.
Additionally
It is worth talking about the secondary equipment separately. First of all, if you want to build a powerful personal computer, then check how much energy your device will consume. Based on this characteristic, you must choose a power supply. If the device does not supply enough power, the equipment will not function properly. You also need to purchase a large capacity hard drive. Nowadays, one terabyte is already a little when you consider all the amount of multimedia content that is stored on users' computers. Computer games usually occupy 50-60 GB. Of course, it's up to you to choose the size of the hard drive, but you definitely shouldn't buy devices with a capacity of less than 2 TB.
Gamer's dream
Now let's talk about the most powerful computers that any gamers probably dream about. Unfortunately, in this case, the price - quality parameters will be directly proportional. The most powerful personal computer will also be the most expensive. For example, consider the Hyper Cosmos X gaming PC. It uses an i7-5960X octa-core 3MHz processor. The amount of RAM is 64 GB. The device uses DDR4 memory. As a video card, four GeForce GTX TITAN X cards with 12GB of video memory are used. The disk capacity is 10 GB. To power this entire system, a 1500W PSU is used. Such a computer costs almost 900,000 rubles. If you halve the amount of RAM and remove three extra video cards, the cost of the device will almost halve. In this case, the performance of the device will not be reduced by any FPS, even in the latest games. Such assemblies are being sold quite successfully today.
Power
You can talk as much as you want about gaming home computers and their cost, but the most powerful PCs in the world are not gaming platforms at all, but supercomputers for scientific research. The performance of such devices in comparison with the equipment presented in the shop windows cannot even be estimated. They are intended for completely different purposes. A rating of such devices is published every six months. To assess their parameters, such a concept as "flops" is used. It refers to the number of floating point operations performed in one second. The first computer had a performance of 500 flops. Today, a typical home computer demonstrates hundreds of gigaflops of performance.
Perhaps your computer is already several years old and was bought in a store, or maybe it is completely new and you assembled it yourself, and from the most sophisticated parts? One way or another, it will be interesting for you to look at the most expensive and most powerful computers - and your computer will seem to you an old calculator.
The most powerful computer in the world:
At the moment, in the Guinness Book of Records, the place of the "Most Powerful Computer" is " Tianhe-2"- translated from Chinese" milky way ". It is capable of performing 34 quadrillion operations per second. What does this mean and what is it for? Such powerful computers are mainly used for space research, climate analysis, etc. the simplest (for these computers) tasks, for example, playing Battelfield 4 at maximum resolutions, but it is worth noting the fact that a super-computer is not provided for such tasks (it does not have a video card), so if you suddenly want to buy such a "monster" , you'll have to upgrade it a bit. 
Computer performance was 33.86 petaflops on Linpack benchmark.
Tianhe-2 is based on Intel Xeon processors. The computer consists of 16,000 nodes, each containing two Xeon IvyBridge and three Xeon Phi processors. In total, it has 3,120,000 cores and 1.4 petabytes of RAM. The supercomputer runs Kylin Linux. Communication between the nodes is carried out using a specially designed proprietary network TH Express-2, the heart of which is thirteen 576-port switches based on ASIC chips, made using 90nm technology, each of which has a bandwidth of 2.56 terabits per second.
File storage has a capacity of 12.4 petabytes. Power consumption 17.8 megawatts (24 megawatts including refrigeration and air conditioning systems). The computer covers an area of 720 m 2
Most expensive personal computer
The most expensive personal computer was released by the Chinese company Eazo, which gave its name to its brainchild. "Eazo X70". The price of the computer is 45 thousand dollars (1 million 620 thousand rubles). However, the system characteristics do not justify the declared price in any way:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Processor (3.0GHz)
- 4GB of RAM,
- Two hard drives 150GB (10,000rpm) + 500GB (7,200rpm)
- Video card: dual NVIDIA 8800GTX,
- Liquid cooling
- 7.1 channel sound
- Vista Ultimate OS
Riddles and secrets of the personal computer! For more than 15 years, the personal computer (PC) has firmly entered our life. Back in the early 90s of the last century, we could not even imagine what kind of animal it looks like, and how to use it. But five to six years have passed, and since the mid-nineties, this technique has stably settled down at work, and at home, and on vacation.
And now, at the beginning of the XXI century, each of us sooner or later comes to the point when you need to go to the store and purchase a personal computer for home. However, most users who already know how to work on a computer, as a rule, have a poor idea of how this technique works, what it is and what this or that computer is intended for. Often this ignorance leads to disappointment in the purchased item: after two months of use, someone's computer starts to "slow down" and "freeze", then suddenly it turns off or restarts by itself, and the program, in turn, is not installed at all. ... So let's figure it out. , why and from what it happens, how to avoid it, and in general: what is a personal computer. To begin with, a little history and interesting facts from the "life" of computers ...
The very first computer in the history of mankind
Konrad Zuse, a student at the Technical University of Berlin, having received an architecture degree in 1935, could not even imagine that his name would remain in world history, as the name of the first person who created not only the world's first computer, but also the world's first programming language.
Even as a student, Konrad wondered how to simplify the cumbersome calculations of the resistance and stress of materials in the construction of bridges and other complex structures. After graduating from university, the young man, having worked for a little over a year at the Heinkel aircraft manufacturing company, decided to devote himself to computer technology, and still make an apparatus that would simplify engineering and technical calculations. And two years later, (1938), the first computing machine, working on a binary number code, appeared in the world.
The most interesting thing is that in the same years, in the USA, several departments, institutes and factories worked on the invention of such an apparatus, and Konrad assembled the world's first computer in his parents' apartment, practically alone, investing in its creation the amount that he was loaned to him friends. This is how the world's first computer “Z1” was born. Then “Z2” and “Z3” appeared. Unfortunately, all these computers worked for the war machine of the Third Reich and were used for calculations in the production and launch of the first German missiles. But the Americans only in 1943 were able to launch their first computer "MARK-1".
And now, more than 70 years after the invention of the first computer, a customer, standing in a store, intensively scratches the back of his head, solving the problem: "What kind of computer to buy?" Of course, in every computer supermarket there are sales assistants who can explain to the buyer which PC is best for him and why. But all the same, there remains a rather large percentage that the buyer is "pushed in" the wrong thing. The main thing for the seller is ...? Sell the item at the highest possible price. After all, he gets his own percentage from each sale.
And the buyer, trusting such a seller, lays out the amount twice as much as he could have paid. Why is that? Personal computers, like any other technology, have their own purpose. Of course, this comparison may be rough, but a person who decides to buy a car for travel on vacation or a summer residence will not buy a truck, he will buy a car. And easier to maintain and cheaper. So every PC has its own purpose. Depending on the details of what power and performance are installed inside the PC, their configuration is different: for office work; for games; for working with video; for working with images (photos, illustrations); for programming; there are also computers intended for the military, security services and specialized calculations (astrophysical calculations, weather forecasts, etc.), but these computers are unlikely to be of interest to a simple consumer who clearly does not need the most powerful computer in the world installed in the Los National Laboratory -Alamos (USA).
It costs a lot - $ 133 million, and the area is too large: more than one square kilometer. The purpose for which the PC is purchased depends on the configuration of the internal parts and the software installed on the computer. We'll talk about software below, but now we'll touch on the main topic of our article!
The most powerful computers in the world
And so friends, it would not be entirely fair to single out one super computer in our review! Since today, there are as many as three computers in the world, claiming the title of "The most powerful computer in the world." And today we will focus on them. And so .., we meet: Jaguar, Roadrunner, Titan.
Jaguar is primarily a Native American with independently operating computing cells in two sections: XT4 (7832 cells) and XT5 (18688 cells). Each cell of the XT5 partition contains two six-core AMD Opteron 2356 processors, 2.3GHz, 16GB DDR2 RAM, and a SeaStar 2+ router. The performance of such a device is 1.38 Petaflops, and the disk space is 6 Petabytes. Section XT4, in turn, has more modest indicators of its constituent parts. For example, each cell in this section contains only one six-core processor, 2.1GHz, 8GB RAM and a SeaStar 2 router. It is worth noting that Jaguar runs on its own operating system called the Cray Linux Environment.
What is a petaflop per second .. you ask ?! This is a million billion operations over a specified period of time. The brainchild of IBM, the Roadrunner supercomputer, reached 1.376 Petaflops / sec. This computer is built on a cluster architecture. That is, it consists of a huge number of absolutely identical elements connected in parallel, which ensures the solution of problems with a large number of similar calculations.
Roadrunner is powered by Linux operating system, which can run on AMD 64 hardware platform. It supports one and two processor systems with memory up to 16 Gb. The basic element of the computer architecture is the Tri Blade module. Physically, the module consists of four boards: two LS21 boards contain four dual-core processors; opteron AMD Dual Core and 16Gb memory, 4 Gb per core; one QS22 board contains two Power X Cell 8i processors and 8Gb memory, 4 Gb per processor; The expansion board connects the processor boards with each other and provides communication with other modules.
Externally, the Roadrunner represents 278 racks, which house: 6120 Opteron processors on 3060 LS21 boards with 49 Gb memory; 12,240 Cell processors on 6120 QS22 boards with 49 Gb memory; 204 nodes Input - Output; 26 288 ISRs 2012.
The supercomputer Cray XK 7 - Titan is an upgrade of the computer "Jaguar" and after completion of the work showed a unique speed of operations. It reached 17.59 Petaflops / sec. Titan consists of 18,688 knots. Each node contains:
- 16 core AMD Opteron 6274/76 processor.
- RAM controller 32 Gb.
- Graphics accelerator NVIDIA Tesla K 20 X containing 2688 cores and 6 Gb of RAM.
The constructive solution that allowed achieving such a speed of computation was unconventional and very successful: to include in parallel 18 688 16 core Opteron 6274 processors and 18 688 NVIDIA graphics processors, which are much faster. The use of graphics accelerators provides about 88% of the total computer power. All electronic stuffing is located in 208 cabinets, to which a water cooling system is connected.
- The total number of cores of the main processors is 560 640.
- RAM 710 Tb.
- Titan is controlled by the Linux operating system.
- The clock speed of the computer is 2.2 GHz.
For data storage, the computer has at its disposal a Spider II system with a total capacity of 40 petabytes.
Components of a modern PC
The PC itself consists of a system unit and a monitor. These are the main components of a PC. The system unit contains: motherboard - all devices responsible for the operation of the PC are mounted on this board. The processor is the brain of the computer. The more powerful the processor, the more operations it can perform. Random access memory - is responsible for the speed of the processor and the exchange of information with it. A video card is a device that transfers images from a computer's memory directly to a monitor. Sound card - responsible for sound processing and the operation of the PC speaker system.
Fan and radiator (cooler, slang.) - a device responsible for cooling the entire PC system HDD (hard disk) - a device that stores all computer information DVD - drive - a device that allows you to write information on disks and view or read information from them. One of the most expensive PC configurations is the gaming configuration. Unless, of course, play not simple Tetris or chess, but, as the "gamers" themselves say, "shooters" or "adventure games" that require a powerful PC configuration.
But in any case, looking for the most powerful computer in the world for gaming is not wise. In order to purchase a PC for games, $ 1,500 - 3,000 will be enough. In order for the computer to work normally, you need to install software (software) on it, commonly referred to as a "program". Having bought a computer without software, the consumer, turning it on, will see the following inscription on the monitor screen: “On your PC software is not installed”. It translates as follows: "Your PC does not have software installed."
Software, like parts inside a computer, performs various functions and is divided into the following types: System software - operating systems and programs for diagnostics, maintenance and support of the normal operation of a PC. The most famous operating system at the moment is Microsoft Windows. This is a system that includes a set of software for controlling a PC and creating an interface between computer devices and a monitor.
Application software is conventionally divided into universal and specialized. Specialized software is a set of programs that allow you to ensure the normal operation of a PC. This can include anti-virus programs, programs that allow the user to clean the computer from "garbage" (unnecessary files and registry keys), programs designed to work with the network, programming languages. Universal software is designed for processing text, images, video, recording information on media, etc.
In any case, before purchasing a computer, it is worth finding a person (acquaintance, or acquaintance of acquaintances) who is well versed in the PC configuration and software. And already with him go to the store. Even if this acquaintance requires, within reasonable limits, payment for his services, the buyer will still save a certain amount. After all, such a consultant is not interested in receiving interest from the sale. And the seller has his own interest.
In the world. After all, the gaming market is not asleep, and you cannot play new games with the old hardware. It is for this reason that many are eyeing the author's assemblies, and someone decides to independently assemble their "monster".
The most powerful in the world
The leaders are rightfully considered two manufacturers - Razer and Hyper PC.
The first to open the list of the most powerful gaming computers build R2 Rizer Edition. This computer is designed for a wide range of gamers-connoisseurs who, above all, value quality and high performance. Now it's worth taking a closer look at this assembly.
Configuration options
The system has a processor from Intel of the latest known generation, supporting DDR4 memory and a frequency of 2666 megahertz. The maximum amount of memory is 64 gigabytes. There are also several hard drives and SSD drives on board. The choice of video cards depends solely on the preferences of the gamer - it can be NVIDIA or AMD, but with water cooling. Such a system is capable of supporting any well-known novelties and upcoming hits.
To fully meet the needs of users and showcase the most powerful gaming computer in the world, Razer decided to create a package in two versions.
The first configuration has an AMD Ryzen 7 processor, clocked at 3200 megahertz. The RAM is at least 8 gigabytes. A discrete graphics processor model Radeon RX 580 with 8 gigabytes of video memory. Winchester has 1 gigabyte of memory. The cost of this basic kit is 65 thousand rubles. Further cost will depend on the preferences of each player.
The second configuration also has the characteristics of the most powerful gaming computer in the world. The Intel Core i7 7700K processor has incredible overclocking potential. Here, the base RAM is 16 gigabytes. The graphics card GeForce TitanX, which carries 32 gigabytes of video memory, is appointed as a graphic representative. There is also a 1 terabyte SSD drive. The price of this assembly varies from 260 thousand to 650 thousand rubles.
The second contender on the list for the best gaming PC is the Hyper Cosmos Z. This "monster" has two GeForce TitanZ graphics cards. There is also an Intel Core i74960 E CPU, ASUS RAMPAGE IV board and 64 gigabytes of RAM from Corsair Dominator series with high-quality cooling.
On board there are two more SSDs, one terabyte each, and an eight-terabyte hard drive.
10 representatives of high-quality assemblies of gaming PCs
Top Comp 5567830 takes the first place, where users have noted the most satisfactory characteristics of the components.
The second in the list is the owner of the title of the most stylish case - Brand Star 003. The cost of this assembly does not exceed 50 thousand rubles.
If before that there were low-budget gaming assemblies, then more powerful medium-class PCs are presented further, costing up to 100 thousand rubles.
This build is marked as the leader in performance among mid-range gaming PCs with the Top Comp 7619399.
ASUS ROG GR8ll is, perhaps, the dream of every gamer who appreciates space saving, for which this model received the title of the most compact assembly.
The leader in the ratio of quality and price is RIWER GAME-GTX.
CompYouGame G777 boasts the largest amount of file storage.
This top will be completed by the most powerful gaming computers, the prices of which are over 100 thousand rubles.
The flagship and powerful gaming PC is the KEYGM Pro 32G3250, which is the perfect balance between value and quality.
The top PC with a compact architecture is the MSI Vortex 7RE.
Last but not least on the PC list is the ARENA A085885, which is the best in this ranking.
How to build a top-end PC yourself?
With enough supplies, you can build a powerful gaming PC yourself. First you need to decide on the processor, that is, what kind of company it will be. It is worth choosing a model of the latest generation with possible overclocking. Next, select a motherboard with the required connector for the processor. RAM and cooling are selected according to the processor model. The video card must also be the latest model with a large supply of video memory. The power supply unit is selected based on the energy consumption of the entire PC. Hard drive or solid state drive has no selection criteria. The last on the list of accessories is the case - it should be taken based on the size of the motherboard.
Every year manufacturing companies release more and more powerful equipment, which they use to solve the most complex problems and perform functions that meet the demands of the time. Let's find out what is the most powerful computer on the planet now.
The most powerful computer to date
The Chinese Sunway TaihuLight is the most powerful computer in the world with a performance of 93 petaflops (1015 floating point operations) and a capacity of 15 thousand kW.
The supercomputer runs on 10.6 million cores, which are powered by 40.96 thousand processors made in China (clock speed - 1.45 GHz). Its memory is not as large as expected for such a powerful supercar - 1.3 petabytes.
The record holder among computers is located in the Wuxi urban district of the Chinese province of Jiangsu. To create this computer, 1.8 billion CNY ($ 273 million) were spent from the country's budget.
In 2018, the process of creating a new record holder from IBM is expected to be completed. Its performance will be about 200 petaflops.
It will be two quantum computers with the most powerful processor at once. One of them - Sierra - with a capacity of 150 petaflops will be installed at the American National Laboratory. E. Lawrence in Livermore. And the other, more powerful, - Aurora - in the Argonne laboratory.
Most powerful computers: list
Top 5 powerful computers on the planet:
- Sunway TaihuLight - performance 93 petaflops (maximum - 125.43).
- The Chinese Tianhe-2 with a performance of 33.86 petaflops (maximum - 54.9) was the record holder in 2016.
Developed at the Changsha Defense Science and Technology University (Hunan Province) with the assistance of Inspur Corporation. Performs 2,500 trillion operations per second using 3.12 million cores.
RAM - 2,432 terabytes, hard disk - 13,000 terabytes. It is used for calculations during the construction of metro and other facilities.
- American Titan (modernized Jaguar) consists of two sections - XT5 and XT4. The first has 149.5 thousand computing cores.
RAM - 300 terabytes. HT4 contains 31.33 thousand computing cores. The main memory of the section is 62 terabytes. Total power - 17.59 petaflops (maximum - 27).
Used to implement the US government's state energy program.
- The American Sequoia computer was developed by IBM in 2012. At that time, he was the most powerful supercomputer on the planet.
Its performance is 16.32 petaflops. Created in a laboratory in Livermore.
The main area of use is the simulation of nuclear explosions. It is also used for computing astronomical, climatic and energy problems.
- Japan's Fujitsu K computer topped the list of supercomputers on a planetary scale in 2011. Its performance is 8.162 petaflops at the beginning of construction and 10.51 petaflops after revision a year later.
Created with funding from the Japanese government to perform scientific calculations.
The most powerful supercomputers are used by mankind for ultra-precise and complex calculations. With their help, it becomes possible to quickly calculate this or that probability. This is essential for science.
Over the past few years, China and America have been competing in supercomputers. A revenge of American scientists is expected in 2018, but so far Chinese remains the record holder among computers.
