Every now and again some obscure computer manufacturer releases a feat of hardware engineering so awesome, that it can only be purchased for about the same price as a down payment on your new house.
The XCP is packed with twin quad-core CPU’s running at 3.2GHz and is capable of utilizing up to four graphics cards. No details yet regarding the hard drive space or RAM situation, however, a cool $20,000 tag says it will probably be sufficient for your needs. It’s all stuffed into a case designed solely for the purpose of cooling the components with liquid nitrogen and just happens to look like something out of Galactica.
It doesn’t seem as if the price is justified though considering you can probably build the same thing sans nitrogen for a few thousand if not less. Nitrogen cooling isn’t exactly new to the world of computing as overclockers and PC enthusiasts have been doing it for years. Granted, their systems are probably far more dangerous. It’s pretty cool if you think about it though, considering the short list of people who can proudly say that they own a computer cooled by an unstable chemical substance. Water-cooling eat your heart out.
Hit the link for a few more pictures and a nice description of the story behind this monster.
Armari’s super computer-in-a-box seeks to reinvigorate industry