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According to Encarta Dictionary a supercomputer is “A state-of-the-art computer with the highest processing speed possible at any given time, and is used for solving scientific and engineering problems.” They are also the most expensive computers in the world. Some supercomputers can cost several million dollars a piece. However, in the past couple years companies have decided to build less expensive by combining hundreds of smaller computers to run as one large supercomputer. The computers that make up the supercomputer have many Central Processing Units each. The result of all of these CPU’s being combined equals what is called a Massively Parallel Processor (MPP) computer or supercomputer. An example of a supercomputer would be the NEC’s Earth Simulator and that computer contains 640 computers with eight CPU’s each, with a combined total of 5,120 CPU’s. It cost about 400 million dollars and it can perform 400 trillion calculations per second. Supercomputers are the top of the line computers, and are not owned by ordinary people, but it affects our lives in ways you couldn’t image. (Understanding Computers) Supercomputers, although alike in some ways, are different from other computers in the fact that they are made to work on a single problem at one time. Other computers, for example, mainframes and workstations are specifically designed to perform and work on copious problems and support numerous users at one time. (Encarta)