First ever Cray T3D Supercomputer goes up for auction with $81,000 reserve — Europe’s fastest supercomputer in June 1996 goes on the block

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Dubbed the ‘Typhoon,’ this sample was installed at Edinburgh University and was listed in the TOP500 as Europe’s fastest supercomputer in June 1996.

First ever Cray T3D Supercomputer goes up for auction
(Image credit: The Saleroom)

A historically significant supercomputer has gone up for auction. The first Cray T3D ever produced, serial number 6001, was recently listed by The Saleroom with opening bids from £60,000 (~$81,000) invited. This T3D has quite some provenance, having been Cray’s internal development machine and then installed at Edinburgh University, earning the moniker the Typhoon. Moreover, the TOP500 list ranked the Typhoon as the fastest supercomputer in Europe in June 1996.

(Image credit: The Saleroom)

The Cray TD3 marked a significant shift in the supercomputer pioneer’s performance strategy. “As the inaugural machine of the T3D series, it represents a defining step in Cray’s move from traditional vector systems into the era of massively parallel supercomputing,” explain the auction notes. For enthusiasts and collectors it also “stands as a museum-grade survival of exceptional importance.”

Inside the stylish H193cm x W117cm x D193cm (over 6ft tall) ‘Tomato Red’ chassis pictured is a single-cabinet Cray T3D-MC512, equipped with 512 DEC Alpha 21064 150 MHz compute processors, according to the listing. Cooling this beastly throng is Fluorinert liquid-based. This auction lot includes the main cabinet and HEU first-stage cooling system (also over 6ft tall and weighing 0.85 tons).

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First ever Cray T3D Supercomputer goes up for auction
(Image credit: The Saleroom)

The reserve / starting price of ~$81,000 is a big ask for this type of machine, as its size and weight will limit the appeal among enthusiasts. We note that, at the time of writing, there are no bids yet and just 10 watchers (auction ends May 31). The Saleroom appears to be framing the Typhoon as a bargain, though, mentioning examples like this would have originally cost $15M when new.

Two other Cray supercomputers are being auctioned at the same time as this TD3. On the listing source page you will also see that auctions for a Cray Triton T-932 Supercomputer and a Cray Y-MP4E Supercomputer are ongoing and scheduled to end on May 31.

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Mark Tyson
Mark Tyson
News Editor

Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • ekio
    Gonna buy it to get the ram !!
    With current prices I can still make profit…
    Reply
  • thisisaname

    Special terms for potential purchases
    These computers have been preserved for their cultural and aesthetic importance in the history of technology, and they may have been modified then or subsequently from their original form. Electronic or mechanical items or parts within these lots are being sold for their artistic, historical, or cultural interest only. The lot may not operate, function, or comply with current requirements or technical standards and may no longer be operational or fit for its original or any other purpose. RWB Auctions Limited does not guarantee that these lots are in the original state or function as they were originally intended.
    With those T&C's who knows what you are buying.
    Reply
  • thisisaname
    An other item on there was
    A Cray Y-MP4E, serial number 1904, configured with three Cray parallel vector processors, 64MW of system memory and the desirable SSD option with 32MW of storage.
    Storage and memory quoted in terms of MW?

    Edit: Not Mega watts but Mega Words :o
    Reply
  • Dementoss
    thisisaname said:
    With those T&C's who knows what you are buying.
    Essentially a 'sold as seen' disclaimer, because they are not in a position to be able check it's originality or, able to properly test it.
    Reply
  • Dntknwitall
    Honestly to pay $81,000 for nostalgia is only for the rich as this "Supercomputer" has zero use today, I don't even think this would run linux of any distro. It is a massive paper weight in the tonnage. I do not think it is going to sell.
    Reply
  • Hugo Nabais
    ekio said:
    Gonna buy it to get the ram !!
    With current prices I can still make profit…
    Well, it has a TOTAL of only 32 GiB, with individual (useless) modules of 64 MB of very old DRAM.
    Nothing worth there!
    Reply
  • bit_user
    If I had silly amounts of money and space, the only supercomputers I'd buy would the iconic ones, like a Cray-1:

    or a Thinking Machines CM-2:

    The more it looks like just some 19-inch racks, the less interested I get.
    Reply
  • ekio
    Hugo Nabais said:
    Well, it has a TOTAL of only 32 GiB, with individual (useless) modules of 64 MB of very old DRAM.
    Nothing worth there!
    Duhhhhh that was obviously a joke
    Reply