What are the disadvantage and advantage of the supercomputers?

Answer 1

If by supercomputer you mean the very advanced computing machines such as the Roadrunner supercomputer or the Earth-Simulator supercomputer then the advantages are many. Supercomputers are extremely fast when compared to even the "fast" computers that the general public has at home. They hold a lot of memory and are able to process and compute much much more programs and information at the same time. A practical application that is also a major advantage is that supercomputers are able to factor very large numbers much faster. This is important because this ability gives the military and intelligence agencies an upper hand when attempting to crack secret codes that could hold sensitive information. Another practical and advantageous thing about supercomputers is that they are able to run models and simulations that predict climate change and other natural changes. Supercomputers are quite important in the military/government/intelligence fields. They are also quite essential in different scientific fields such physics and bio or neuro-chemistry. Using super computers scientists are able to simulate how subatomic particles behave. Something like that would probably not be possible to do with regular pc's. A supercomputer can increase global trade and communication by facilitating the processed information of the different transactions more efficiently and dynamically.

The disadvantages of supercomputers is that they tend to take up a lot of room, power and tend to be very expensive. They also take very skilled individuals to build and maintain them. To build these supercomputers there is usually a lot of advanced planning and collaboration of many people. So we can see how this can take some time. These computes have to be kept in a climate controlled environment so the cost will persist throughout the life of the supercomputer. These machines are very intricate and complex. They hold multiple microprocessors and many hard drives as well. Given all of these factors it is obvious why the cost is so high.

Remember that "supercomputer" can be a relative term because a "super" computer today may not be so "super" tomorrow. In the 50's and 60's there were computers that took up the space of several rooms and required several engineers and scientists to maintain. They were considered very advanced machines but compared to today's technological advancements these computes are now considered to be quite primitive. To give you and idea why, just consider the fact that the smartphone in your pocket has much more memory and computing power then these machines did.

There is a sort of work-around that can be done if a supercomputer is needed but there is not enough of money and resources to have one build or bought. A sort of supercomputer can be assembled from off shelf parts. It is essencially the linking of many personal computers to one hub or switch. Whatever needs to be processed is divided into parts, then those parts are sent to the different cpu's. When the cpu's are done processing they send the information back to some central point. These computes tend to not be as advanced or fast as a real supercomputer but it can get the job done. It is a sort of "poor man's supercomputer."

Supercomputers today can become very obsolete in the not too distant future. This is because quantum computers are being developed. These computes will be able to essentially dwarf the current supercomputers. For more information I urge you to Google quantum computing/computers.

Best wishes!