The first task for students in every student cluster competition? Put a stake in the ground with solid LINPACK and HPCG benchmark scores. Our Winter Classic HBCU and HIS (Hispanic Serving Institutions) teams did just that to kick off our fifth annual competition. In an HPC competition, it’s sort of like NASCAR or Formula 1 drivers heating up their tires before a race. This is the first of five challenges the students will face in their quest for the championship crown (not a real crown, more of a trophy.)
The first week this year was particularly difficult. The schools in the competition hadn’t formally returned for their winter semester yet, so this task put huge pressure on team communication and coordination. Some teams couldn’t get out of the pit area, which is common on the first competition task.
Ten teams ‘embraced the suck’ and turned in scores on both tasks, using mentor systems and training to run and optimize their results over the week-long competition period. Each of the benchmarks is worth 100 points and the scores are normalized for your convenience.
The results? Damned close. On LINPACK, eight out of ten teams came in at 90% or above on our scoreboard. HPCG was a little less tight with the top five teams posting results between 91% and 100%. Five other teams turned in HPCG results and carved out a spot on the leaderboard.
My special guest on the Winter Classic Studio Update Show was Matt Ziegler, Lenovo’s Director of ISG Neptune & Sustainability. Matt did a great job of color commentary. He’s deep in HPC given his decade long stint as director of Lenovo’s HPC/AI Architecture & Performance (plus another decade in HPC before that!)
During our run up to revealing the HPL/HPCG scores we kicked around Lenovo’s unique take on liquid cooling and how it pays off for customers in real dollars and cents.
Check out the video below for a fun conversation and the first score reveal of the 2025 Winter Classic.
Next up for the students was a week off and then a unique challenge that force feeds them HPC concepts and techniques for a week, capped off with a grueling exam over the weekend.
For you millions (and millions) of viewers in homes, offices, and labs, we’re going to be talking to the HPE mentors, presenting the results from the HPC Crash Course exam, and interviewing the student teams. Stay tuned…..