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Supercomputers once worth millions to be auctioned

Sophie ParkerWiltshire
News imageDan Goldsmith Several huge units in a office-type space which look a bit like giant desktop computer towers. They are black and red, with the Cray logo on them.Dan Goldsmith
The Cray T3D has a starting price of £60,000

Supercomputers from the 1990s – one of which originally cost $39m (£29m) - are going up for auction.

The machines, which weigh between three and four tonnes, were made by Cray, which still makes supercomputers for the Met Office and GCHQ.

The three being put up for sale by RWB Auctions, Wiltshire, are owned by Dan Goldsmith, who explained that while they were considered very powerful in their day, a laptop now has the same computing power.

He began collecting computers as a child and said these three were "fascinating", calling them the "supercars of the computing world".

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Goldsmith said: "These machines completely changed the direction of supercomputing.

"When I first read about them as a teenager, they felt almost mythical. To actually own them was something I never imagined would happen."

While impressive in size and sci-fi in looks, he explained a "modern gaming PC will be a couple of magnitudes more powerful" than the machines.

"They were built with money no object - the Bugatti Veyron of computers," added Goldsmith, who owns an IT business in Watford.

News imageDan Goldsmith looks at the camera - behind him is a representation of one of the supercomputers. He has a short beard and wears a white shirt with small patterns that look like spaceships.
Dan Goldsmith described them as the "supercars" of the computing world

One of the machines is called a Cray Triton T-932 and is believed to be one of only three left in the world.

It was once owned by the UK government and while the exact price of this one is not known, the model had a list price of $39m (£29m) at the time.

Anyone hoping to find government secrets in the gold-coloured box will be disappointed as the technology with the information inside was destroyed before being taken on by the collector.

Weighing four tonnes, it is more than 2m wide and 1.5m tall. Its cooling units are also a tonne each.

While a 1970s Cray supercomputer sold in 2024 for more than $1m (£743,955), this one has a starting price of £40,000.

News imageDan Goldsmith Back of a man in a blue shirt and dark trousers while he looks at one of numerous circuit boards at the back of the big unit, which has been extracted from its box.Dan Goldsmith
Goldsmith had the Cray Triton T-932 put back together by engineers

The two others came into his collection when the University of Edinburgh was decommissioning about 19 tonnes of equipment.

He offered to pick the machines up with specialist haulage for free as long as he got it all signed over to him.

One the machines is the first Cray T3D, known as Typhoon, once the fastest supercomputer in Europe, weighing more than three tonnes and nearly 2m tall.

Comparable examples are said to have originally cost about $15m (£11m), but Typhoon now has a starting price of £60,000.

News imageRWB Auctions Two men in suits smile at the camera while standing either side of one of the huge units, taller than themselves. The unit is black and red.RWB Auctions
The auctioneers say its one of the more unusual collections they have worked with

"This is one of the most unusual collections we've handled at RWB Auctions," said Gareth Wasp, head auctioneer.

"The historical significance of the machines, alongside Dan's personal story and the effort that has gone into preserving them over the years, makes this a really fascinating sale."

Goldsmith has had them for more than two decades, but cannot keep them where they are for much longer.

The machines are being sold through a live online bidding system, which ends at 18:00 BST on 31 May.

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