HPC Class Unveiled
As Yoo Jae-won stepped onto the main stage, he instinctively knew at a glance that this showcase was already half a success. It was an event held under the ID Group name after a long time, yet the reaction from the crowd gathered at the venue was nothing short of fervent. All that remained was his presentation. Simply revealing the achievements of the semiconductor division that had worked so tirelessly alongside him would be enough to call it a victory.
He took a short, sharp breath, centered his mind, and maintained perfect composure. With confident strides that radiated assurance, Yoo Jae-won walked to the center of the stage. The stage itself was the height of minimalism—no podium, no computer, only a single spotlight descending from above. That meant he had to hold the microphone himself. Yet combined with his commanding presence, the massive main screen at the center of the stage and the auxiliary screens flanking both ends, the platform didn't feel empty at all. The thunderous applause rolling in from the audience only amplified the effect, making the vast convention center's main hall feel completely packed.
Every face in the crowd wore an expression of eager anticipation, wondering what astonishing revelation Yoo Jae-won would deliver. The time had come to meet those expectations.
The opening was straightforward, but the cheers that erupted were enormous. The audience seemed to regard Yoo Jae-won as a rock star; they roared at nearly every word he spoke. It took several calming gestures from him—hands waving in a "whoa, settle down" motion—before the hall finally quieted.
"Here, HPC stands for high-performance computer. But 'high performance' is rather vague on its own, isn't it? After all, high and low require a clear standard of comparison."
At Yoo Jae-won's words, the main stage screen lit up. It displayed last year's New Egg: a Pentium 66MHz CPU, 8 megabytes of main memory, and a high-performance 3D accelerator card with 4 megabytes of video RAM. A crisp, high-definition photograph of the machine appeared alongside its full specifications. The specs weren't merely listed in text; each component was accompanied by its actual image. Though it was a PC released the previous year, its performance remained at the absolute top tier even now. You couldn't add any extra components to it, and it ran the current highest-spec game, Doom 2, smoothly at maximum settings.
"To earn HPC certification, a system must deliver performance at least 100 percent faster than this latest New Egg."
Yoo Jae-won's explanation was instantly visualized on the main screen. The audience reaction split cleanly in two. Those knowledgeable about computers shook their heads, muttering that it was impossible. Meanwhile, the blind followers of ID Group and Yoo Jae-won simply cheered with unrestrained enthusiasm.
What surprised him most was Gilbert's reaction. No way! No matter how devotedly he followed Yoo Jae-won, Gilbert wasn't lacking in computer knowledge. Having majored in electronic engineering, he understood the core principles better than most. He immediately recognized just how absurd the claim was. In reality, building a PC that outperformed the New Egg was impossible. The first hurdle was upgrading the CPU—the most critical component—beyond Pentium levels. While server-grade CPUs like IBM's Power CPU or SUN's UltraSPARC existed and offered superior performance, they were prohibitively expensive and required proprietary motherboards and operating systems.
Memory didn't grow faster simply by increasing capacity, either. Too little and programs wouldn't even launch; once you reached the proper amount, speed gains were marginal. It mainly helped with multitasking. The same principle applied to 3D accelerator cards. The one in the New Egg was already the best model on the market, so there was no room for improvement there.
"I have always believed that seeing something once is better than hearing about it a hundred times. Rather than offering lengthy explanations today, it would be best to simply show you."
Gilbert's face had unconsciously clouded with worry, but at the words "show you," he shook it off. As expected of Yoo Jae-won.
"We have one prepared item."
At Yoo Jae-won's signal, Remington appeared once again, pushing the cart that seemed destined to become his trademark. On it rested a Shell Book. Yoo Jae-won lifted it like a magician, turning it this way and that to display it from every angle. He made certain to show that it was a standalone unit with no adapter connected. The main camera captured the moment in a tight bust shot, projecting the Shell Book enormously across the hundreds-of-inches screen.
Gilbert let out a soft "Huh?" It was the exact same model as his own. He knew the Shell Book's performance well—it was better than most PCs, but not enough to surpass an all-in-one desktop like the New Egg. He widened his eyes, intensely curious about what kind of magic Yoo Jae-won would perform.
There was no need to strain his vision. After placing the Shell Book back on the cart, Yoo Jae-won powered it on. The main camera zoomed in on the LCD screen, cropping and enlarging it so that the BIOS text appeared palm-sized on the massive main screen. Gilbert, watching the boot process closely, immediately noticed something different: the memory check speed.
A computer's BIOS checks component status upon power-up—CPU, memory, hard disk, everything—before handing results to the OS bootloader. The memory check on this Shell Book was far faster than Gilbert remembered. Normally it required time to examine each memory block methodically, but this one flew through the process in an instant. It hadn't skipped the check; the verification was clearly happening, yet at a terrifying pace. As a result, the entire boot sequence finished much faster than Gilbert expected. The default Android 2.0 wallpaper, featuring a California vineyard backdrop, appeared in under a minute.
"Hehe. Fast, isn't it? But this is only the beginning."
Yoo Jae-won manipulated the mouse connected to the Shell Book. The first program he launched was ID Office—the standard office suite now used by corporations both large and small. It was ID Technology's flagship product, selling hundreds of thousands of copies monthly. Out of its four core applications, he opened the spreadsheet and immediately loaded an IDS file.
"This file contains ten thousand randomly generated sixteen-digit numbers. What shall we demonstrate with it? Sorting, of course. Many of you who use IDS have employed the ascending or descending sort function, yes? Under normal circumstances, sorting doesn't cause the computer to stutter. But those of you who have tried sorting thousands—or even ten thousand—items will understand."
A new video appeared on screen: a PC bearing a prominent Pentium logo from an unknown manufacturer. It opened the same IDS file Jae-won had loaded and clicked the sort button. The mouse cursor immediately changed to an hourglass, signaling that the command was executing and the system was unresponsive. A loud grinding sound effect played.
"The sorting algorithm is updated with every new version of ID Office. From 1.0 to the current 3.0, each upgrade brings a 10 to 20 percent improvement. Yet no matter how excellent the algorithm, hardware limitations mean the absolute time required remains significant."
The moment Yoo Jae-won finished speaking, the video displayed a large "X3" and accelerated playback by that factor. The ten thousand numbers appeared to sort almost instantly. But the clock in the corner revealed it had still taken over a minute.
"Now, now—it's time for the magic."
Yoo Jae-won performed the identical task on the Shell Book. When he clicked sort, the cursor transformed into an analog clock, its second hand spinning rapidly. A ticking sound effect heightened the tension, and a digital stopwatch appeared to track the time. Ten seconds passed. Then a few more. The analog cursor returned to normal as the spreadsheet refreshed. The ten thousand scattered numbers now stood perfectly ordered in ascending sequence. Total time: seventeen seconds. More than three times faster than the standard PC.
"Only at this level can you earn the HPC mark," Yoo Jae-won said, as if it were nothing remarkable.
Yet no one in the venue took his words at face value. A threefold performance leap was, by any logical measure, monumental. In the computer industry, even a thirty percent improvement was marketed as a next-generation product. This kind of gain would drive countless users to replace their existing components. The audience was dying to know what kind of sorcery Yoo Jae-won had employed.
He was not one to prolong suspense. "This is possible because this Shell Book is equipped with ultra-high-speed cache memory and ultra-high-speed RAM."
As he explained, two types of memory chips appeared on the main screen—both bearing the clear Future Electronics mark. One was SRAM, the other DRAM. In truth, sorting depended far more on memory bandwidth and cache performance than raw CPU power. The Shell Book on the cart featured these next-generation modules, delivering performance that dwarfed conventional PCs.
Yoo Jae-won continued demonstrating the improved speeds using ID Office on memory-bandwidth-heavy tasks. Improving the CPU would have accelerated everything, but that was not something the semiconductor division's modest laboratory could tackle.
"Next, I'll show you a demonstration of the HPC Class-certified 3D accelerator card—the one I know you're all most curious about."
Gilbert's eyes widened. He wondered if Jae-won truly intended to run 3D acceleration on the Shell Book. But technology had not advanced quite that far. A 3D card the size of a notebook motherboard couldn't fit inside one, and its power consumption was enormous. Once again, Remington wheeled out a new PC on the cart. The audience erupted in loud exclamations and cheers. This was not another New Egg.
"This is the New Egg 2."
Considerable time had passed since the original New Egg's debut. They had refreshed it with different polycarbonate colors and chrome accents, but the moment had come for a true successor. TG and ID Group had collaborated closely once more. This project differed slightly from previous efforts: it had been conducted as an official initiative through TG Mobile, the telecom subsidiary formed by their partnership. Previously, everything had happened on Yoo Jae-won's personal initiative. The New Egg 2, however, followed formal documentation and procedures. While it sacrificed some agility, the arrangement was impeccable both legally and financially.
The New Egg 2 on the cart looked radically different. A Sony Trinitron 14-inch CRT—the finest image quality available—appeared to float in midair, supported by an arched aluminum-alloy frame between the monitor and base. The frame, produced by a specialty metals workshop acquired through New Japan Investment Bank, was hollow for lightness yet strong enough to hold the heavier Trinitron. The floating design allowed effortless adjustment in any direction, solving the traditional all-in-one monitor positioning problem. The signature polycarbonate material of the Egg series was retained, resulting in an exceptionally clean overall aesthetic.
"Whoa, whoa—settle down, everyone. The real surprise begins now."
Looking good wasn't enough. To be the best, it also had to perform. To prove the point, Yoo Jae-won boldly double-clicked the Doom 2 icon on the New Egg 2 desktop.
The bold sound effects burst forth in rapid succession. After securing a double kill, another elimination triggered triple. It didn't stop there. Two opponents who had underestimated the low-HP Yoo Jae-won after a fierce 2-on-1 exchange were promptly sent back to the starting point, resulting in a pentakill. His pinpoint headshot accuracy left the audience speechless. At the same time, the dazzling graphical feast unfolding across the main screen left them unable to close their gaping mouths.
The New Egg 2 represented the full convergence of HPC technology: ultra-high-speed cache, ultra-high-speed memory, and a 3D accelerator card built with the new process. Naturally, its video memory also utilized Future Electronics' next-generation modules. The lone drawback was its standard Pentium 66MHz CPU, but games depended heavily on graphics card performance. This allowed the inclusion of elements John Carmack had once dreamed of adding but had been forced to omit due to technical constraints.
Single-player had become far more spectacular. Polygon counts increased, textures gained finer detail, and new objects populated the world. Even the plywood-style environments now featured planted trees and grass, along with explosive and shattering effects. Enhanced audio delivered multiple simultaneous sound effects, creating satisfyingly powerful impacts. Multiplayer support expanded from ten to sixteen players, making matches far more chaotic while maintaining flawless speed. The elevated graphical fidelity only made the experience shine brighter.
Experts never blame their gear. Yet when you give an expert superior gear, the results become sublime—Yoo Jae-won demonstrated this firsthand. He achieved at least four kills for every death, posting an impressive 4.6 kill-death ratio. In an FPS with short respawn times, that was extraordinary skill. Nevertheless, the word "Defeat" appeared on the giant screen. While he massacred enemies, his teammates had died even faster.
"As expected, games are never easy," Yoo Jae-won said, ending the session with a touch of regret. Had he played seriously from the start, he would have queued for ranked matches rather than the random quick-match system. He had chosen the latter solely to demonstrate the true capabilities of the HPC Class 3D accelerator card.
"HPC Class is not some mere paper plan. These are real, existing products. What makes them possible is the semiconductor copper wiring process we have named Coppermine. And this is a DRAM wafer produced using Coppermine technology."
He held up a silicon wafer the size of his palm. By the early twenty-first century, 30-centimeter wafers would become standard because wafer area directly impacted productivity. In the current year of 1993, however, they were still only palm-sized. The camera zoomed in on his hand. The wafer shimmered with rainbow iridescence under the lights—a sight that would captivate any IT enthusiast. Yet the application of copper wiring wasn't visibly apparent to the naked eye.
"Hehe. You can't tell just by looking, can you? So I will show you properly. From this point forward, however, we enter the realm of true experts. Therefore, I will invite someone who knows far more about semiconductor processes than I do. Please welcome Dr. Lisa Su, who oversaw and directed the entire Coppermine project! Give her a thunderous round of applause."
The audience was kind. Lisa Su's name was not yet famous, so it must have sounded unfamiliar, yet they welcomed her with roaring applause as she walked onto the stage. She wore a beige summer two-piece suit and tasteful makeup, presenting a markedly more professional appearance than usual. Her expression, however, betrayed her. Having never stood before such a large crowd, she was visibly nervous.
Anticipating this, Yoo Jae-won had not left the stage entirely. He remained at her side as support until the end. Lisa Su possessed natural showmanship, and with Yoo Jae-won assisting beside her, the tremor quickly vanished from her voice. She began radiating the unmistakable aura of a true expert with her entire being.