El Capitan Supercomputer
World's most powerful supercomputer (1.742 exaflops) built with AMD Instinct MI300A APUs for stockpile stewardship
The story
Installed inside Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in northern California, El Capitan was crowned the world's fastest supercomputer in November 2024 after posting 1.742 exaflops on the Top500 benchmark. Built on HPE Cray EX technology, El Capitan utilizes AMD's breakthrough Instinct MI300A processors, which fuse 24 'Zen 4' CPU cores and CDNA 3 graphics accelerators with 128 GB of unified high-bandwidth memory per chip. Commissioned by the NNSA, El Capitan performs 3D simulations ensuring the safety and reliability of the US nuclear deterrent without live testing.
Notable
- Debuted at #1 on the Top500 list in November 2024 with a record-shattering 1.742 exaflops Linpack benchmark.
- Powered by AMD Instinct MI300A Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) combining CPU and GPU cores with unified memory.
- Dedicated to the National Nuclear Security Administration's Stockpile Stewardship Program without underground nuclear testing.
- 100% direct-liquid-cooled HPE Cray EX architecture consuming approximately 29.5 MW at full load.
Expansions
- 2019: DOE NNSA awards $600M contract for El Capitan supercomputer to HPE and AMD
- 2023: deployment begins in LLNL's Building 453 modular computing environment
- 2024: debuts at #1 on the Top500 list with world-record 1.742 exaflops performance
Sources
- El Capitan - High Performance Computing · Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- El Capitan - HPE Cray EX255a System Profile · TOP500 · 2024-11-18
Part of the open famous data centers dataset (CC BY 4.0). Updated 2026-10-15. A correction? da@mustardseedmt.com
What is El Capitan Supercomputer famous for?
World's most powerful supercomputer (1.742 exaflops) built with AMD Instinct MI300A APUs for stockpile stewardship
Where is El Capitan Supercomputer?
El Capitan Supercomputer is in Livermore, California, United States (37.688, -121.708). It is operated by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).
How much power does El Capitan Supercomputer use?
About 29.5 MW of IT load and 35 MW in total, according to the sources listed on this page.
What is the PUE of El Capitan Supercomputer?
1.05, reported.