CRAY

Seymour Cray invented a truly revolutionary computer. Released in 1976, the CRAY-1, as it was appropriately called, was a giant supercomputer. Unlike earlier models such as the UNIVAC or IBM 701, the CRAY-1 could process over a hundred million arithmetic operations per second.

The CRAY-1 had a million word memory base. Loaded with wiring and dense with circuitry, the C-shaped computer was incredibly fast. Because everything was so fast, the machine put out mass amounts of heat. In order to avoid system meltdowns, Cray created a cooling system that used Freon-quite revolutionary for such a large system-but very costly for the consumer.

The price for the supercomputer ranged between five and eight million dollars but housing the system was very expensive. Each supercomputer needed its own room, as well as several mainframe computers to feed it the information. Despite its bulk, the CRAY-1 really opened the doors for large, effective computers in business. Next

ASSIGNMENT:
One of the important special effects site used CRAY computers to produce animation and special effects. Which company used the CRAY to produce its special effects?

ADDENDUM:
There is a joke about the new CRAY laptop. The computer is very small and very fast, but you have to take a liquid helium truck with you to keep the computer cool.

If you are interested in learning more about Seymour Cray or the CRAY series of computers, visit the Charles Babbage Institute's Cray Research Virtual Museum.