There's still time to bid on this decommissioned petaflop supercomputer including 8,064 Intel Xeon CPUs but no cables—local collection only

The decommissioned Cheyenne Supercomputer, emblazoned with a "Cheyenne" logo
(Image credit: US General Services Administration)

We're always on the hunt for hardware deals here at PC Gamer, but this might be a bit much even by our standards. The US General Services administration is currently auctioning off a decommissioned 5.34 petaflop supercomputer, and although the starting price was a mere $2,500, the top bid is currently $280,085. A bargain, we think you'll agree, but it does come with the odd issue.

The Cheyenne Super Computer was originally operated between January 2017 and December 2023 at the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing centre, and at the time of its installation was ranked as the 20th most powerful computer in the world (via Ars Technica). Many moons may have passed since then, but according to Wikipedia it still counted as the 160th most powerful as of last November, so it's not exactly a slouch even by modern standards.

Specs? Oh, nothing too excessive, just 8,064 Intel Xeon E5-2697v4 CPUs, each with 18 cores, a Turbo frequency of 3.6GHz and a 145W TDP. That's a total core count of 145,152, in combination with a combined total of 313,344 GB of DDR4-2400 RAM. However, the listing warns that you might have to keep an eye on that memory, as over its 7 years of operation "Approximately 1% of nodes experienced failure…primarily attributed to DIMMs with ECC errors, which will remain unrepaired"

There's a few other small factors to take into account, too. For a start, it doesn't come with any fibre optic or CAT5/6 cabling, which may add up to quite the additional expense if you do decide to pull the trigger. The listing also warns that:

"Moving this system necessitates the engagement of a professional moving company. Due to their considerable weight, the racks require experienced movers equipped with proper Professional Protection Equipment (PPE) to ensure safe handling. The purchaser assumes responsibility for transferring the racks from the facility onto trucks using their equipment."

Seems a bit excessive if you ask me, although I'm sure your pals would help out with the promise of beers and pizza once it's all finished. The water cooling system has also been dismantled and appears to have had some issues, as the listing notes that "the system is currently experiencing maintenance limitations due to faulty quick disconnects causing water spray". It is included with the sale, however, along with some used PGW cooling fluid, adding up to approximately 10 gallons per E-cell. 

Given there's 14 of them—each weighing 1,500 lbs each—that's 140 gallons of coolant you're expected to shift on top of the supercomputer units themselves, so I'd advise eating a hearty breakfast on moving day if you plan on giving your professional moving team a helping hand.

Your next machine

Gaming PC group shot

(Image credit: Future)

Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines.
Best gaming laptop: Great devices for mobile gaming.

Not only that, but you'll need quite the power connection. It's estimated that in its original role crunching data for advanced atmospheric and Earth sciences research, it was using around 1.7 megawatts of power. This being the case, I'd suggest calling up your electricity provider beforehand just to make sure you don't plunge the surrounding areas into darkness on first boot.

Still interested? Well, the auction finishes today at 6.11 PM US Central Time, so you'll have to get your skates on if you're thinking of making an offer. I have pitched it to the PC Gamer hardware team as a potential equipment purchase, but the consensus seems to be that while it may well fit in our offices, we'd all have to stand outside and look at it through the windows as there wouldn't be room for anything else. Boo.

Andy Edser
Hardware Writer

Andy built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 12, when IDE cables were a thing and high resolution wasn't—and he hasn't stopped since. Now working as a hardware writer for PC Gamer, Andy's been jumping around the world attending product launches and trade shows, all the while reviewing every bit of PC hardware he can get his hands on. You name it, if it's interesting hardware he'll write words about it, with opinions and everything.

Read more
Skytech Chronos gaming PC on a blue background
Got the Nvidia 50-series and AMD X3D stock-out blues? Skip the waiting lists with this surprisingly well-priced RTX 5080 and Ryzen 7 9800X3D gaming PC
Two pictures of Billet Labs' copper gaming PCs
This 4090-equipped water-cooled copper PC 'looks like a steam engine' and I'm in love
Skytech Eclipse Lite gaming PC on a blue background
This RTX 5080 gaming PC is $100 cheaper than last week's best RTX 5080 rig, and it's probably also the best way to get your hands on a high-end GPU right now
A gaming PC with RGB lighting enabled on a desk.
This gaming PC build smashes together the very latest components but if I did it again, I'd do it differently
The HP Omen 35L gaming PC, Lenovo Legion Pro gaming laptop, and Nvidia RTX 5090 Graphics card on a blue background
Here are the best gaming rig deals you can get for the measly cost of an Nvidia RTX 5090
Cobratype RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC on a blue background
This RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC is about as cheap as we've seen so far, and it's got me all nostalgic for PC prices long past
Latest in Hardware
A woman wearing a VR headset with dramatic, colourful lighting across the background
'World’s smallest LEDs' could lead to accurately lit screens with 127,000 pixels per inch and much more immersive VR
The NES themed 8BitDo Retro mechanical gaming keyboard on a blue background
I love the 8BitDo Retro C64 keyboard but I'd pick its cheaper NES-themed model near its lowest price ever during Amazon's Big Spring Sale
The snazzy red and black HyperX Cloud Alpha wireless headphones float in a teal void. The microphone is attached to the headset.
The best wireless gaming headset is now even better in the Amazon Big Spring Sale, boasting a more than $50 discount
A chip being held up in an Intel fab
Intel is reportedly 'working to finalize commitments from Nvidia' as a foundry partner, suggesting gaming potential for the 18A node
Amazon box
Don't panic! The 'Do Not Send Voice Recordings' option Amazon just removed was only used by 0.03% of customers and they can still have it
Digital generated image of people surrounded by interactive transparent and glowing panels with data. Visualising smart technology, blockchain and artificial intelligence
Now I shall demand the cookies! Proposed new browsing agreement turns the tables and lets users dictate terms to websites
Latest in News
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway
Image of Cersei Lanniser from Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Steam early access trailer
A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all
The new Prime Asset featured in the upcoming update for the Outlast Trials.
The Outlast Trials puts its already paranoid players under surveillance for a time-limited story event
A Viera looking confused in Final Fantasy 14.
Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'