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Yes. China’s Tianhe-2, also called Milky Way-2, ranked No. 1 in the TOP500 list in June 2013, delivering 33.86 petaflops on the Linpack benchmark. It held the position for six consecutive TOP500 lists, until Sunway TaihuLight took the lead in June 2016.
What “world’s top” meant for Tianhe-2
TOP500 ranks supercomputers by their measured performance on Linpack, a benchmark that solves a system of linear equations. Tianhe-2’s June 2013 result was 33.86 petaflops—also listed as 33,862.70 teraflops—making it the fastest system in that ranking at the time. The archived list announced the result on June 17, 2013. This is a historical, benchmark-specific distinction, not a claim that Tianhe-2 remains the fastest today. TOP500’s June 2013 announcement
Who built it, and where it ran
Tianhe-2 means “Milky Way-2.” China’s National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) developed the system, which was deployed at the National Supercomputer Center in Guangzhou. NUDT described intended uses that included simulation, analysis and government-security applications. TOP500’s system profile and announcement
How Tianhe-2 was built
The June 2013 TOP500 profile described a large system built from 16,000 nodes. Each node combined two Intel Xeon Ivy Bridge processors with three Intel Xeon Phi processors, for 3,120,000 computing cores overall. Those figures describe the system’s node and core configuration, not the number of processor packages.
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- Nodes: 16,000
- Per node: two Intel Xeon Ivy Bridge processors and three Intel Xeon Phi processors
- Total computing cores: 3,120,000
Although it used Intel processors and accelerators, TOP500 highlighted Chinese-developed components and software, including the TH Express-2 high-speed interconnect, front-end processors, operating system and software tools. TOP500’s June 2013 profile
Power use and performance context
TOP500 recorded Tianhe-2’s power consumption at 17.8 MW while running Linpack. That figure is a measured load figure associated with the benchmark, not a general estimate for every workload or operating state. Performance and power figures are most useful when compared on the same basis; a peak-performance specification, for example, is not interchangeable with Linpack’s measured result. TOP500’s June 2013 highlights
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How long it stayed No. 1—and what replaced it
Tianhe-2 remained first across six consecutive TOP500 lists, from June 2013 through November 2015. In June 2016, Sunway TaihuLight moved into the top spot with a Linpack result of 93 petaflops, displacing Tianhe-2. TOP500 described the newcomer as replacing an Intel-based Chinese system that had led the previous six lists. TOP500’s June 2016 announcement TOP500’s June 2016 highlights
How to compare supercomputer rankings fairly
A headline ranking is only meaningful when the benchmark and date are clear. To compare Tianhe-2 with another system, check whether the figures are Linpack results or peak theoretical performance, and note the benchmark edition, node and core counts, processor design and power measurement. Raw petaflops from different benchmarks should not be treated as directly equivalent.
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