pc tours and travel

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PC Tours and Travel....Anyone know if they're any good? - Hong Kong Forum

• Asia    
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• Hong Kong    

PC Tours and Travel....Anyone know if they're any good?

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Never heard of this company but it does not mean that it's no good.

The quality of the company's web site is usually an indication of its calibre.

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/newzealand/local-tours/tour-guide.html

You may also contact the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong regarding any particular tour operator:

http://www.tichk.org/public/website/en/member_service/membership/membership_categories/index.phtml

definitely a trustworthy company. They tend to do inbound tours for big event and groups. They were the designated transportation company/organizer for East Asian Games in HK this year.

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

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• PC Tours - Macau

PC Tours & Travel   is renowned for its extensive destination knowledge throughout Hong Kong , Macau, and  China . Established in 1984 as one of Asia’s first destination management companies, they provide creativity and professional services, and specialize in the design and handling of incentives, international conferences, meetings and special interest    groups

PC Tours take personal charge in every last detail. The Management Team are present at all times, ensuring consistency in service, expenditure, quality, and scheduling. PC Tours take the responsibility of arranging each trip very seriously, and have full liability insurance to cover every eventuality.

Macau is a melting pot of East and West that displays many more signs of Western influence than nearby Hong-Kong. Macau is a fantastic fusion of Portuguese charm and ancient Chinese tradition; the city holds many often-forgotten sights and experiences that are well worth a look. Great second destination option for two centre incentives.

Facts & Figures

Key Regions

Macau Peninsula: The most populous and historic part of Macau, home to many casinos and landmarks such as the Ruins of Saint Paul, Senado Square, and Monte Fort

Taipa: Known for the Taipa Houses-Museum and Cotai Strip, which houses some of the world's largest casinos

Cotai: A strip of reclaimed land between Coloane and Taipa, known for its mega-resorts and entertainment complexes

Coloane: Known for its beaches, hiking trails, and the A-Ma Cultural Village

Key Landmarks and Attractions

A-Ma Temple: One of the oldest Taoist temples in Macau

Penha Hill: One of the highest points in the Macanese Peninsula

Ruins of Saint Paul: Ruins of an early 17th-century church dedicated to Saint Paul the Apostle

Monte Fort: The oldest of all forts in Macau

Senado Square: Forms the heart of Macau, with its beautiful pastel-painted buildings

Key Airports

Macau International Airport is the main international gateway. There are no direct flights from the UK; most flights transit through other Asian cities.

Time Difference

UTC +8 (Macau Standard Time)

Main Languages

Cantonese Portuguese is also an official language English is commonly used in business and tourist areas

Macanese Pataca (MOP), though Hong Kong Dollars are widely accepted

Weather & Seasons

Subtropical climate; hot and humid summers, cool and dry winters.

Conferences

Macau is an ideal meeting point for Eastern and Western business due to the large amount of convention and exhibition venues being constructed in the city long with the range of meetings and conference spaces within hotels which  are equipped with diverse features to meet the needs of different events.

Scope of PC Tours services includes:

- Audio visual proposal / sourcing and execution

- Conference planning

- Hotel sourcing and negotiation

- On site event management

- Post event wrap up

- Pre & post tour

- Plus more see:  www.pctours.com/mice

There is something for everyone in Macau, f rom UNESCO Heritage Sites, world renowned cuisine, and busy shopping malls, to sun-splashed beaches, adventure sports, and hiking on the unspoiled islands nearby.

- Accessibility to prestige private clubs

- Entertainment

- Itinerary planning and recommendation

- Theme party ideas and implementation

- Transportation (Air / Sea / Ground)

- Venue liason and negotiation

DISCUSS YOUR REQUIREMENTS FOR HONG KONG, MACAU OR CHINA

Tel: +44 (0) 1628 532020, email: [email protected].

Venue Update: Macau

Pc tours and travel.

Profiles of 4 new hotels in Macau

New DMC partner for Hong Kong, China and Macau

Pc tours & travel.

PC Tours & Travel provide creativity and professional services, and specialize in the design and handling of incentives, international conferences, meetings and special interest groups.

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MEETING, INCENTIVE, CONFERENCE & EVENTS

PC Tours is renowned for its extensive destination knowledge, creativity and professional services, specializing in the design and handling of incentives, international conferences, meetings and special interest groups for between 2 and 2,000 travellers. PC Tours’ philosophy is to be client-focused, provide uncompromising and personalized service, deliver innovative and extraordinary experiences, while offering the most competitive and preferential rates made possible through volume buying power and excellent relationships with local partners.

Our scope of services includes:

• Accessibility to prestige private clubs
• Audio visual proposal / sourcing and execution
• AV solution
• Budget management
• Conceptual development
• Conference planning
• Efficiency / Quick turnaround
• Entertainment
• Food and beverage arrangements
• Hotel accommodation
• Hotel sourcing and negotiation
• IT solution
• Itinerary planning and recommendation
• On site event management
• Post event wrap up
• Pre & post tour
• Props production
• Publication design and production
• Registration management
• Risk management / Contingency planning
• Sightseeing arrangement
• Spouse program
• Team building activities
• Theme party ideas and implementation
• Transportation arrangement (Air / Sea / Ground)
• Venue liaison and negotiation
• Venue recommendation and negotiation
• Venue set up
• Venue sourcing and negotiation
• Video conferencing
• Web Site Design
• WOW programme recommendations

Established in 1984, PC TOURS & TRAVEL, is one of the largest and most respected Destination Management Companies headquartered in Hong Kong and with offices in Beijing and Shanghai. PC Tours is renowned for its extensive destination knowledge, creativity and professional services, specialising in the design and handling of incentives, international conferences, meetings and special interest groups for between two and 2000 travellers. PC Tours’ philosophy is to be client focused, provide uncompromising and personalised service, deliver innovative and extraordinary experiences, while offering the most competitive and preferential rates made possible through volume buying power and excellent relationships with local partners. The Management and operational team are all full time, dedicated, multi lingual and experienced staff. A member of the Management Team is always appointed to service and oversee enquiries and programmest. Destinations serviced by PC Tours including Hong Kong, Macau, China and Indo-China

Countries of operation: Cambodia China Hong Kong Macau Vietnam Product categories: Destination Management Company Incentive / Teambuilding Organiser Contacts: Website: www.pctours.com Email: [email protected] Phone: +86-10-6853 8449

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Pc Tour and Travel

Best Tour and Travel Agency

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Find great adventure holidays and activities around the planet.

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Destination, pc tour and travel is the best travel agency.

PC Tour and Travel is a Himachal Based Travel Agency located in Awari Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh. We are giving the best services to our clients and our efforts are always to make their trip memorable. We also deals with other state tourism like Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttrakhand, Kashmir and many more.

We have experienced sales executives who provides you the exact plan that you want.

Let's begin the journey with PC Tour and Travels.

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We get it. You’re not the homebody type. We aren’t either. Your passion, needs, and desires have shaped our business. Destination experts hand-craft transformative experiences designed specifically with you – our fellow traveler – at heart. We wouldn't trust your experience with anyone else.

Guided Touring Reimagined

We know you want to explore and also dive in. We’re curious travelers, just like you, so rest assured, you’ll experience must-sees and connect with the people and culture that define the destination. You’ll eat in locals’ homes, take cooking classes, travel by trains and tuk tuks, explore cities with food tours, and stay in igloos, castles, and chateaus.

Value Beyond Price

Your time is one of your most precious commodities, so you should spend more of it in the destination, not driving between places. We design tours that spend the fewest hours on the coach. One-night stays are a rarity. This is your trip, and you shouldn’t feel rushed. With choice, flexibility, and free time, take it all in – this is your tour.

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Travel with trust. Because this is your trip - something you've planned for and dreamed about. You should feel confident in your journey every step of the way.

Industry-Leading Travel Protection

Cancel for any reason (bad hair day applies) up to 24 hours before your tour leaves and get a full money-back refund. Collette issued a record-breaking $185 million cash back to travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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We've been doing this for a long time. Since 1918, in fact. Collette is the most experienced and longest-running tour operator in North America. You choose...

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• Taiwan Travel Guide | 12-day Taipei-Yilan tour (Product No: PC230715009)

Product Number: PC230715009

※The following is a "self-guided tour" itinerary, and the schedule and itinerary can be adjusted according to personal preferences.

※Refund conditions depend on the regulations of each attraction.

※You can click on the link to make an online reservation or 【Add to My Journey】.

※【Add to My Journey】 allows you to see the distance and travel time between points, and provides navigation to get there.

※If you are a group traveler and require accommodation and chartering services for 3 or more rooms, please contact Pc TOUR's dedicated travel planner to enjoy group discount prices.

※Individual travel (1-2 rooms) can directly book itinerary and accommodation by clicking the link.

※Please note that if the itinerary's attractions (those not part of pre-booked activities) are undergoing maintenance or unopen, it falls outside the responsibility of our company. Prior to departure, please confirm the availability of the attractions on your own. Thank you.

※Passengers must confirm the pick-up time for the following day with the driver the day before. If there are any issues on the previous day, please contact PC TOUR customer service as soon as possible.

Introduction

第1天 - 11/30 (四): 機場接機( 立即預約 )，入住西門町Hostel 

• 旅客晚上入境台灣桃園國際機場(TPE)

第2天 - 12/01 (五)，入住西門町Hostel

第3天 - 12/02 (六) ，入住西門町Hostel

第4天 - 12/03(日)，不包車，旅客自行從台北前往宜蘭，入住天使星夢渡假村

• 00:00~09:00｜早餐： 飯店內 +早上9點退房前往 蘭楊蟹莊
• 09:00~10:00｜交通：飯店前往蘭楊蟹莊
• 10:10~13:00｜景點：蘭楊蟹莊+午餐： 蘭楊船菜 蘭楊船菜在蘭楊蟹莊對面，是同一位老闆經營
• 13:10~13:25｜交通：蘭楊蟹莊前往 本事農創
• 13:35~14:35｜景點：本事農創(採草莓)
• 14:45~14:55｜交通：本事農創前往春水笈溫泉湯屋
• 15:05~16:35｜景點： 春水笈溫泉湯屋
• 16:45~16:50｜交通：春水笈溫泉湯屋前往樂山溫泉拉麵
• 17:00~18:00｜晚餐： 樂山溫泉拉麵
• 18:10~18:40｜交通：樂山溫泉拉麵前往天使星夢渡假村
• 18:50~19:10｜住宿：飯店check-in
• 19:20~00:00｜住宿：飯店內休息

第5天 - 12/04(一) ，不包車，入住天使星夢渡假村

• 00:00~09:30｜早餐：飯店內+早上9點30分出發前往綠舞日式主題園區
• 09:30~09:50｜交通：飯店前往綠舞日式主題園區
• 10:00~11:30｜景點：綠舞日式主題園區
• 11:40~12:00｜交通：綠舞日式主題園區前往蘭波或當代鐵板燒餐坊
• 12:10~13:40｜午餐：蘭波或 當代鐵板燒餐坊
• 13:50~13:55｜交通：蘭波或當代鐵板燒餐坊前往幾米公園
• 14:05~14:35｜景點：幾米公園
• 14:45~14:50｜交通：幾米公園前往新月廣場
• 15:00~17:00｜景點：新月廣場
• 17:10~17:30｜交通：新月廣場前往羅東觀光夜市
• 17:40~19:10｜景點：羅東觀光夜市
• 19:20~19:30｜交通：羅東觀光夜市前往民宿
• 19:40~00:00｜住宿：民宿內休息

第6天 - 12/05(二) 包車8小時(立即預約)，入住天使星夢渡假村

• 00:00~08:50｜早餐：用完早餐後，早上8點50分出發前往奇麗灣珍奶博物館
• 08:50~09:20｜交通：民宿前往奇麗灣珍奶博物館
• 09:30~10:30｜景點：奇麗灣珍奶博物館(旅客參加早上09:30場次)
• 10:40~10:50｜交通：奇麗灣珍奶博物館前往番割田甕缸雞
• 11:00~12:00｜午餐：番割田甕缸雞
• 12:10~12:25｜交通：番割田甕缸雞前往笑ㄟ咖啡
• 12:35~13:25｜景點：笑ㄟ咖啡
• 13:35~13:50｜交通：笑ㄟ咖啡前往蜡藝蜡筆城堡
• 14:00~16:00｜景點：蜡藝蜡筆城堡(旅客參加下午2點場次)
• 16:10~16:35｜交通：蜡藝蜡筆城堡前往天使星夢渡假村
• 16:45~00:00｜住宿：民宿內休息
• 10:40~10:50｜交通：奇麗灣珍奶博物館前往歪歪球或計程車博物館
• 11:00~11:35｜景點：歪歪球或計程車博物館(二選一)
• 11:45~11:50｜交通：歪歪球或計程車博物館前往蜡藝蜡筆城堡
• 12:00~14:00｜景點：蜡藝蜡筆城堡(旅客參加中午12點場次)
• 14:10~14:25｜交通：蜡藝蜡筆城堡前往笑ㄟ咖啡
• 14:35~16:00｜景點：笑ㄟ咖啡
• 16:10~16:50｜交通：笑ㄟ咖啡前往天使星夢渡假村
• 17:00~00:00｜住宿：民宿內休息
• 11:00~11:35｜景點：歪歪球或計程車博物館
• 14:10~14:15｜交通：蜡藝蜡筆城堡前往番割田甕缸雞
• 14:25~15:25｜午餐：番割田甕缸雞
• 15:35~15:55｜交通：番割田甕缸雞前往笑ㄟ咖啡
• 16:05~16:55｜景點：笑ㄟ咖啡
• 17:05~17:50｜交通：笑ㄟ咖啡前往天使星夢渡假村
• 18:00~00:00｜住宿：民宿內休息

第7天 - 12/06(三) 包車8小時(立即預約)，回台北民宿

• 00:00~09:30｜早餐：早餐結束後+早上9點30分出發前往清水地熱
• 09:30~10:10｜交通：天使星夢渡假村前往清水地熱
• 10:20~11:20｜景點：清水地熱+午餐：園區內
• 11:30~11:50｜交通：清水地熱前往把度休閒果園
• 12:00~12:55｜景點：把度休閒果園 - 採芭樂
• 13:05~13:30｜交通：把度休閒果園前往香草菲菲
• 13:40~14:40｜景點： 香草菲菲
• 14:50~15:20｜交通：香草菲菲前往礁溪市區買伴手禮(像是：奕順軒、諾貝爾奶凍捲、焿爸子-國宴肉捲)
• 15:30~16:30｜景點：礁溪市區買伴手禮
• 16:40~17:30｜交通：礁溪市區前往台北民宿(地址：中華路一段與萬華區峨嵋街5號路口)
• 00:00~07:00｜早餐：早餐結束後+早上7點00分出發前往太平山國家森林遊樂區
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• 08:00~12:20｜景點：太平山國家森林遊樂區 - 體驗蹦蹦車(不保證能搭到)、鳩之澤溫泉煮蛋、鳩之澤溫泉泡湯
• 12:30~15:00｜交通：太平山國家森林遊樂區回台北民宿(地址：中華路一段與萬華區峨嵋街5號路口)

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第9天 - 12/08(五) 包車10小時06:50~16:50：台北苗栗台北一日遊

• 00:00~06:50｜早餐：早餐結束後，早上6點50分前往苗栗舊山線鐵道自行車(導航:勝興車站)
• 06:50~08:40｜交通：飯店前往苗栗舊山線鐵道自行車(導航:勝興車站)
• 09:20~10:30｜景點：苗栗舊山線鐵道自行車(A路線: 勝興車站-->南斷橋秘境) (報到地點:勝興車站取票搭乘)
• 10:40~11:25｜景點：勝興老街(拍照+吃美食小吃)
• 11:35~12:10｜交通：勝興車站前往大湖草莓-巧合草莓園
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Nvidia’s next-gen AI GPU is 4X faster than Hopper: Blackwell B200 GPU delivers up to 20 petaflops of compute and other massive improvements

The dual-die B200 GPU has 4X the AI training performance and 30X the inference performance of its predecessor.

Nvidia Blackwell GPU

Nvidia nvlink 7.2t, nvidia b200 nvl72, nvidia b200 superpod, the blackwell tour de force.

Nvidia currently sits atop the AI world, with data center GPUs that everybody wants. Its Hopper H100 and GH200 Grace Hopper superchip are in serious demand and power many of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. Well hang on to your seats: Nvidia just revealed the successor to Hopper. AT GTC 2024 today, CEO Jensen Huang dropped the Blackwell B200 bomb, the next-generation data center and AI GPU that will provide a massive generational leap in computational power. The Blackwell architecture and B200 GPU take over from H100/H200. There will also be a Grace Blackwell GB200 superchip , which as you can guess by the name will keep the Grace CPU architecture but pair it with the updated Blackwell GPU. We anticipate Nvidia will eventually have consumer-class Blackwell GPUs as well, but those may not arrive until 2025 and will be quite different from the data center chips.

At a high level, the B200 GPU more than doubles the transistor count of the existing H100. There are some caveats that we’ll get to momentarily, but B200 packs 208 billion transistors (versus 80 billion on H100/H200). It also provides 20 petaflops of AI performance from a single GPU — a single H100 had a maximum 4 petaflops of AI compute. And last but not least, it will feature 192GB of HBM3e memory offering up 8 TB/s of bandwidth. Now, let’s talk about some of the caveats. First and foremost, as the rumors have indicated, Blackwell B200 is not a single GPU in the traditional sense. Instead, it’s comprised of two tightly coupled die , though they do function as one unified CUDA GPU according to Nvidia. The two chips are linked via a 10 TB/s NV-HBI (Nvidia High Bandwidth Interface) connection to ensure they can properly function as a single fully coherent chip. The reason for this dual-die configuration is simple: Blackwell B200 will use TSMC’s 4NP process node, a refined version of the 4N process used by the existing Hopper H100 and Ada Lovelace architecture GPUs . We don’t have a ton of details on TSMC 4NP, but it likely doesn’t offer a major improvement in feature density, which means if you want a more powerful chip, you need a way to go bigger. That’s difficult as H100 was basically already a full reticle size chip — it has a die size of 814 mm2, where the theoretical maximum is 858 mm2.

B200 will use two full reticle size chips, though Nvidia hasn’t provided an exact die size yet. Each die has four HMB3e stacks of 24GB each, with 1 TB/s of bandwidth each on a 1024-bit interface. Note that H100 had six HBM3 stacks of 16GB each (initially — H200 bumped this to six by 24GB), which means a decent chunk of the H100 die was dedicated to the six memory controllers. By dropping to four HBM interfaces per chip and linking two chips together, Nvidia can dedicate proportionately less die area to the memory interfaces. The second caveat we need to discuss is with the maximum theoretical compute of 20 petaflops. Blackwell B200 gets to that figure via a new FP4 number format, with twice the throughput as Hopper H100’s FP8 format. So, if we were comparing apples to apples and sticking with FP8, B200 ‘only’ offers 2.5X more theoretical FP8 compute than H100 (with sparsity), and a big part of that comes from having two chips. That’s an interesting point that again goes back to the lack of massive improvements in density from the 4NP process node. B200 ends up with theoretically 1.25X more compute per chip with most number formats that are supported by both H100 and B200. Removing two of the HBM3 interfaces and making a slightly larger chip might mean the compute density isn’t even significantly higher at the chip level — though of course the NV-HBI interface between the two chips also takes up some die area. Nvidia provided the raw compute of other number formats with B200 as well, and the usual scaling factors apply. So the FP8 throughput is half the FP4 throughput at 10 petaflops, FP16/BF16 throughput is half again the FP8 figure at 5 petaflops, and TF32 support is half the FP16 rate at 2.5 petaflops — all of those with sparsity, so half those rates for dense operations. Again, that's 2.5X a single H100 in all cases. What about FP64 throughput? H100 was rated at 60 teraflops of dense FP64 compute per GPU. If B200 had similar scaling to the other formats, each dual-die GPU would have 150 teraflops. However, it looks like Nvidia is stepping back FP64 performance a bit, with 45 teraflops of FP64 per GPU. But that also requires some clarification, as one of the key building blocks will be the GB200 superchip. That has two B200 GPUs and can do 90 teraflops of dense FP64, and other factors are at play that could improve the raw throughput on classical simulation compared to H100. As far as utilizing FP4, Nvidia has a new second generation Transformer Engine that will help to automatically convert models to the appropriate format to reach maximum performance. Besides FP4 support, Blackwell will also support a new FP6 format, an in-between solution for situations where FP4 lacks the necessary precision but FP8 isn't needed either. Whatever the resulting precision, Nvidia classifies such use cases as "Mixture of Experts" (MoE) models.

We also need to clarify some things here, as there are multiple different variants of Blackwell available. Initially, Nvidia is providing specs in terms of full server nodes, and there are three main options. We've also broken out the two "single" GPUs based off the HGX configurations. The largest and fastest solution will be a GB200 superchip, which we'll discuss more below, but as noted it has two B200 GPUs. The full superchip has a configurable TDP up to 2700W. That's for two GPUs (four GPU dies), plus a single Grace CPU. The numbers we just provided above — up to 20 petaflops of FP4 for a single B200 — are from half of a GB200 superchip. The configurable TDP for a single B200 GPU in the superchip goes up to 1200W peak, or 2400W for the two GPUs with 300W for the Grace CPU. The next Blackwell option is the HGX B200, which is based on using eight B200 GPUs with an x86 CPU (probably two CPUs) in a single server node. These are configured with 1000W per B200 GPU, and the GPUs offer up to 18 petaflops of FP4 throughput — so on paper that's 10% slower than the GPUs in the GB200. Finally, there will also be an HGX B100. It's the same basic idea as the HGX B200, with an x86 CPU and eight B100 GPUs, except it's designed to be drop-in compatible with existing HGX H100 infrastructure and allows for the most rapid deployment of Blackwell GPUs. As such, the TDP per GPU is limited to 700W, the same as the H100, and throughput drops to 14 petaflops of FP4 per GPU. There are likely other differences in the hardware that account for the B200 vs. B100 naming, besides the difference in TDP. It's important to note that in all three of these servers, the HBM3e appears to be the same 8 TB/s of bandwidth per GPU. We would assume potential harvested dies for the lower tier parts, meaning fewer GPU cores and perhaps lower clocks, along with the difference in TDP. However, Nvidia has not revealed any details on how many CUDA cores or Streaming Multiprocessors will be available in any of the Blackwell GPUs yet.

It’s not just about raw compute and memory bandwidth. One of the big limiting factors in AI and HPC workloads is the multi-node interconnect bandwidth for communication between different nodes. As the number of GPUs scales up, communication becomes a serious bottleneck and can account for up to 60% of the resources and time utilized. With B200, Nvidia is introducing its fifth generation NVLink and NVLink Switch 7.2T. The new NVSwitch chip has 1.8 TB/s of all-to-all bidirectional bandwidth, with support for a 576 GPU NVLink domain. It’s a 50 billion transistor chip manufactured on the same TSMC 4NP node. That's relatively close to the size of Hopper H100 and shows how important the interconnect has become. The chip also supports 3.6 teraflops of Sharp v4 in-network compute on chip, which can help with the efficient processing of larger models — all that processing power can go toward intelligent load balancing of workloads.

The previous generation supported up to 100 GB/s of HDR InfiniBand bandwidth, so this is a huge jump in bandwidth. The new NVSwitch offers an 18X speedup compared to the H100 multi-node interconnect. This should enable significantly improved scaling for larger trillion parameter model AI networks. Related to this, each Blackwell GPU comes equipped with 18 fifth generation NVLink connections. That's eighteen times as many links as H100. Each link offers 50 GB/s of bidirectional bandwidth, or 100 GB/s per link, which will help tremendously when scaling to larger models. In a sense, it allows larger groups of GPU nodes to function on some levels as though they're just a single massive GPU.

Take the above and put them together and you get Nvidia’s new GB200 NVL72 systems. These are basically a full rack solution, with 18 1U servers that each have two GB200 superchips. There are some differences compared to the prior generation here, however, in terms of what constitutes a GB200 superchip. There are two B200 GPUs paired with a single Grace CPU, whereas GH100 used a smaller solution that put a single Grace CPU alongside a single H100 GPU. Each compute node in the GB200 NVL72 has two GB200 superchips, so a single compute tray has two Grace CPUs and four B200 GPUs, with 80 petaflops of FP4 AI inference and 40 petaflops of FP8 AI training performance. These are liquid-cooled 1U servers, and they take up a large portion of the typical 42 units of space offered in a rack. Alongside the GB200 superchip compute trays, the GB200 NVL72 will also feature NVLink switch trays. These are also 1U liquid-cooled trays, with two NVLink switches per tray, and nine of these trays per rack. Each tray offers 14.4 TB/s of total bandwidth, plus the aforementioned Sharp v4 compute. Altogether, the GB200 NVL72 has 36 Grace CPUs and 72 Blackwell GPUs, with 720 petaflops of FP8 and 1,440 petaflops of FP4 compute. There’s 130 TB/s of multi-node bandwidth, and Nvidia says the NVL72 can handle up to 27 trillion parameter models for AI LLMs. The remaining rack units are for networking and other data center elements.

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Wrapping things up, we have the new SuperPODs with GB200 systems. We noted earlier that the latest NVLink chips support up to a 576 GPU domain. That’s important, because the new DGX SuperPOD scales to precisely that number of GB200 Blackwell GPUs. Each SuperPOD can house up to eight GB200 NVL72 systems, which works out to 288 Grace CPUs and 576 B200 GPUs. The full SuperPOD is quite the AI supercomputer in itself, with 240TB of fast memory and 11.5 exaflops of FP4 compute — or if you prefer, 5.75 exaflops of FP8 or 2.88 exaflops of FP16. Installations can scale to many SuperPODs, with potentially tens of thousands of Blackwell GPUs and Grace CPUs. While nothing was said, we're guessing Nvidia is already starting or will soon begin installing GB200 SuperPODs in either a new supercomputer, or perhaps as an expansion of its existing Eos supercomputer . Nvidia did provide an example installation with a hypothetical 56 SuperPODs and over 32,000 total B200 GPUs. Should that become a reality, it would be an AI supercomputer with 645 exaflops of FP4 compute, 13PB of HBM3e memory, , 58 PB/s of aggregate NVLink bandwidth, and 16.4 petaflops of in-network compute. The SuperPODs are intended to scale up to trillion parameter AI datasets, and Nvidia says compared to H100 solutions, each SuperPOD offers a 4X increase in training performance, and up to a 30X increase in inference speeds. It also claims up to a 25X improvement in energy efficiency compared to the previous H100 based solutions, though the comparison is clearly not something that will apply universally. In this case, it's using the same number of GPUs, running a "massive model" and using the new FP4 number format. Nvidia will also offer DGX B200 systems, which will presumably use Xeon or EPYC processors instead of Grace. These systems are for workloads that specifically want x86 support. Nvidia says DGX B200 can deliver up to a 3X increase in training speed, 15X for inference, and 12X energy savings. As with the previous A100 and H100 SuperPODs, these are designed to offer a quick scale-up solution for data centers and cloud service providers. Nvidia is working with Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud to offer GB200 NVL72 solutions, and says that AWS will have Project Ceiba that will have over 20,000 B200 GPUs, 4PB of HBM3e memory, and over 400 exaflops of AI compute in the coming months.

Nvidia is throwing down the gauntlet again with Blackwell and its related technologies. The company was already at the top of the AI heap, and it knows where the biggest bottlenecks lie and how to address them. From the core GPU to the interlinks to the node-to-node communications, the Blackwell ecosystem looks to shore up any potential shortcomings of the previous solutions. The previous Hopper H100 and Ampere A100 solutions have proven incredibly prescient and successful for Nvidia. Whoever is looking in a crystal ball trying to predict where the industry is heading next nailed it with these AI solutions. CEO Jensen recently quipped that Nvidia's competitors couldn't give their AI solutions away — shots fired back at those claiming Nvidia's dominance was "pure luck" , no doubt. Whatever the cause, the result is that Nvidia's latest earnings show an obscene 126% year-over-year increase , with over a 600% improvement for the latest quarter compared to one year ago in the data center division. It's a safe bet that things aren't going to slow down any time soon with Blackwell. Nvidia has more than doubled down on the GPU size, with dual chips and major overhauls to the underlying hardware. The Grace Blackwell GB200 superchip also represents another doubling down, with two full B200 GPUs paired to a single Grace CPU for the "superchip" module. Blackwell is also designed to scale to much larger installations than Hopper, enabling ever larger AI models. How much will Blackwell solutions cost compared to Hopper? Nvidia didn't say, but with H100 GPUs generally going for around $40,000 each, and given everything that's involved with Blackwell, $100,000 per GPU wouldn't be surprising. The competition isn't standing still, obviously, and just about every major tech company is talking about AI and deep learning and how they're going to be at the forefront of the AI revolution. But talk is cheap, and Nvidia is already at the head of the pack. It invested big into AI starting about a decade back and is now reaping the fruits of those investments, and at least for the next year or two, Blackwell looks like it will power the most advanced AI installations. Blackwell B200 hardware should begin full production and shipping later in 2024. Nvidia hasn't committed to an exact timeframe yet, but additional details will be revealed in the coming months.

Jarred Walton is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on everything GPU. He has been working as a tech journalist since 2004, writing for AnandTech, Maximum PC, and PC Gamer. From the first S3 Virge '3D decelerators' to today's GPUs, Jarred keeps up with all the latest graphics trends and is the one to ask about game performance.

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• brandonjclark Another thing about this keynote... I'm rolling my eyes anytime I see Sam Altman talk about building his own GPU's. Sorry man, but your company CAN NOT do what NVidia does. Reply
• elforeign Watching the conference live. I'm just stunned, awed, at the performance improvements, efficiency improvements, and the throughput increases gen-on-gen. I don't think people really understand what's coming, I don't think I really understand what's coming, but NVIDIA at the moment is enabling a whole new paradigm in the idea of how computation can serve humanity to increase efficiency in all sorts of tasks. Jensen deserves more credit more so than the ridicule he often gets, it's very misplaced, he's not a fool. Nvidia is really having a huge moment. I've been hearing a lot about digital twins in infrastructure and construction, but really excited to see Jensen talking about expanding the reach of digital twins into many more industries. It's really going to revolutionize the speed, accuracy and cost with which so many tasks can be done. Reply
• Flayed H100 GPUs sell for 40k? I'm surprised they still bother with consumer graphics cards. Reply
• digitalgriffin There was a lot to swallow in that presentation. Reply
• aero1x Serious question - would you rather pay $100k for 1 year's service for an average, lazy, flawed human.. or $100k to own 1 blackwell super gpu, plus yearly electricity. What's better for your bottom line? Reply
• ezst036 Hopper didn't come to consumers, did it? Will Blackwell? Reply

Flayed said: H100 GPUs sell for 40k? I'm surprised they still bother with consumer graphics cards.

Admin said: Nvidia revealed its upcoming Blackwell B200 GPU at GTC 2024, which will power the next generation of AI supercomputers and potentially more than quadruple the performance of its predecessor. Here are all the details on the new family of data center and AI products. Nvidia’s next-gen AI GPU is 4X faster than Hopper: Blackwell B200 GPU delivers up to 20 petaflops of compute and other massive improvements : Read more

• CmdrShepard I wonder what kind of pittance of an improvement we will get in 5xxx series at probably 30% higher price? Reply

CmdrShepard said: I wonder what kind of pittance of an improvement we will get in 5xxx series at probably 30% higher price?

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Independent Travel to Moscow and St. Petersburg

My wife and I have traveled independently to many European countries and, after reading many of the comments in this forum, feel like we may be able to do so in Moscow and St. Petersburg as well, although we feel somewhat less comfortable than the other countries where we have traveled in Europe.

My biggest question is how much we will miss by visiting the main sites without a tour guide. In the other European countries we have visited on our own we have been comfortable and satisfied with the level of knowledge we have gained by studying and visiting on our own, although we believe a tour guide or tour company in any country would normally be able to provide greater insight than visiting a site on our own, but about in Moscow and St. Petersburg?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Unless you speak at least some Russian and read the alphabet it would be difficult without a guide. Very few signs in English especially in Moscow. Also not too many people speak English there.

I visited St Petersburg last Autumn for a protracted period , and did not find it anymore daunting than any other European city . As Ilja says , learning the Cyrillic alphabet is a big plus . I also found that it was fairly easy to grasp . It will , among other things , enable you to read signs with relative ease . I would answer the main part or your question ( about tour guides ) thus - I am not enamored of tour guides or tours. While I only use a tour under duress ( A sites rules prohibiting an independent visit - ie Glasgow School of Art , Municipal House in Prague , etc ) . Doing your own preparation and homework is the best way , in my opinion . My wife and I ventured through St Petersburg with nary a concern ,and made two day trips outside of the central district ( one was twenty five miles away , and no English speakers in sight ) Figuring out the logistical details , did not present any difficulties . While I never use tours , I am an inveterate eavesdropper , have done so many times , and find , that on balance , the information that they impart is fairly elementary . If you want greater detail , they are unlikely to supply it . I also prefer to go at my own pace , not being rushed and being able to dwell on things that most other visitors barely give a passing glance . If you are interested , let me know . I would be happy to provide you with information that will enable you to travel independently

Thank you, Steven. I am encouraged by your comments and feel the same way you do about tour groups. We are very much willing to prepare in advance and learn the basics of the Cyrillic alphabet to help us have a better experience.

I would be very interested in learning more about your experience in Russia and receiving any additional information you can provide on independent travel there, starting perhaps with obtaining the visa.

I am not opposed to hiring a private or small group guide for a specific site or for a day trip outside St Petersburg and Moscow, but, like you said, I much prefer the freedom of staying at places as long or short as I want and seeing the sites that interest me most. For example, neither my wife nor I are big into shopping, yet most tour itineraries leave afternoon time for just that. Not interested!

Please provide whatever you may feel would be helpful for us.

Russ , I see you are quite near San Francisco - you can start by looking at the VISA procedure , it's fairly straightforward . Since there is a consulate in San Francisco - look here http://www.consulrussia.org/eng/visa-sub1.html

And here - http://ils-usa.com/main.php

Having always traveled independently, we thought we could do a better job than any tour. How misguided (pun intended) we were. Now that we have had the experience of having someone native to the area walk us around and explain things through a personal perspective we realize how much we missed. For St. Petersburg I highly recommend http://www.peterswalk.com/tours.html . This is not a traditional guided tour, but an opportunity to receive some orientation to the area as well as insight into the "Russian soul". I think if you did this upon arrival the rest of your time would be much more meaningful. We really liked the http://www.pushka-inn.com . The location is superb (just around the corner from the Hermitage square), the rooms lovely, the included breakfast at the restaurant next door ample and overall an excellent value. We used this company to get our visa: https://www.passportvisasexpress.com/site/san_francisco_customer_service Note that it costs about the same for a 3-year visa as a one-year, and you never know if you might want to return within that more extended window of time. It is not cheap, so factor that into your planning.

If you like traveling without a guide in other countries and find this satisfying, the same will be true in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Of course it's not either/or - you can certainly take a guided walk or boat tour, for instance.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of learning Cyrillic if you're going on your own. The book I used was Teach Yourself Beginner's Russian Script, which was great. It breaks down the alphabet into letters that are the same as English, letters that look the same but are pronounced differently, etc. It's out of print, but you can get used copies on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Yourself-Beginners-Russian-Script/dp/0071419861/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1459701143&sr=8-2&keywords=teach+yourself+russian+script

Russia is indeed a bit more "foreign" than say, Italy. However, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, I found enough English to be able to get by. Many restaurants had English menus and/or English speaking staff, for instance. This was most emphatically not true in Vladimir and Suzdal (two cities in the Golden Ring outside Moscow). I went with my sister, a Russian speaker, and if she hadn't been there, I would have been in big trouble. So, if you want to see places outside these two big cities, use a guided tour (even if just for that part). Also, Moscow and St. Petersburg are huge cities. Coming from New York, I wasn't intimidated, but those not used to a megacity may not be so cavalier (even I found them overwhelming at times, especially Moscow).

I found both Lonely Planet and Rough Guide to be helpful, and both to have various errors. Look at both, buy whichever one has a more recent edition, and then be prepared to have to discard some of the advice therein. Also, these places change more quickly than places in Western Europe. Be very careful of outdated advice. For instance, I was there in 2001 and 2010, so I won't give you any specifics on getting a visa - that changes constantly.

Just as a teaser, two things I saw and loved that I doubt would be included in any escorted tour are the Gorky House in Moscow (an Art Nouveau wonder) and the Sheremyetov Palace in St. Petersburg (it's now a museum of musical instruments, and the decor is amazing, particularly in the Etruscan Room).

Thanks for all the good advice. Any additional thoughts are welcomed.

One of history's seminal works pertaining to Russian history and culture and a MUST for anyone contemplating a visit or simply interested , is this fine work from 1980 - http://www.amazon.com/Land-Firebird-The-Beauty-Russia/dp/096441841X

This is about you and not about Petersburg. Do you like guided tours? We don't and didn't find that a guide added to our experience in China where we did hire private guides mostly for the logistics; it was easy to have someone drive us places. But once at a site, we didn't need the guide. I felt the same way about our 9 nights in Petersburg. We did hire a guide for the trip to the Catherine Palace again for the ease of logistics for us Olds. Here is our visit: https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2016/01/23/an-easy-trip-to-the-catherine-palace/ There are also snapshots of the Church on Spilled Blood in this photo journal. Having someone pick us up at the apartment and get us in without line ups and shepherd us through the palace steering clear of the tour groups was lovely. But we didn't need commentary because we can read and prepare.

You certainly don't need a guide for the Hermitage (we spent 4 days there), the Russian Museum, the Kazan Cathedral or Church on Spilled Blood or the Faberge Museum. We enjoyed a number of self guided walking tours including a couple from Rick Steves guidebooks. We took the canal cruise suggested by RS that had an English commentator. I would not take one without that as you will be totally clueless. The commentator was not all that good but at least we had some idea what we were seeing. So for people like us who like to do our own thing and can read a guidebook and don't particularly like to be led about, a tour is not needed. If you enjoy tour groups, then go for it. Petersburg is easy to negotiate. It helps if you can read the cyrillic alphabet and it is also useful to have the google translate ap on your phone. We found ourselves translating packages in grocery stores with it and the occasional museum sign or menu. I have one food I need to avoid and so it was handy to have the translator to talk with waiters (I could either show them the sentence, or play it for them or play it to myself and then repeat it to the waiter -- that all worked well)

Dear Russ, I cannot help you with Moscow, but about four years ago, my husband and I went to St Petersburg on our own. But, we did use a private guide for 4 half days. We both feel that our guide absolutely made our trip (we stayed 6 or 7 nights). We used a company owned by Tatyana Chiurikova, www.tour-stpetersburg.com I cannot say enough good things about her and our experience. I emailed her and we worked out a schedule/ sights that was tailored to our interests. She also offered some recommendations, which we took. The guide will meet you at your hotel. And frequently, at certain places, with the guide, we were able to skip the long entrance lines. We had an half day driving tour of the city (car, driver, & guide). You are taken to & go in places such as Peter & Paul Fortress, some of the cathedrals, etc. We had a half day with the guide at the Hermitage which ensured that we would see the major sights there. And, of course, you can stay after your guide leaves or return another day. Also, we had the guide for Peterhof (a must & go by boat) and Catherine's Palace. I hope that you will go to the website. As I said, our guide made our trip. I am positive that we would have missed quite a bit on our own everyday. And I'm sure we would have wasted a lot of time trying to get to various place.This was the best of both worlds, a guide where needed and plenty of time on our own. Whatever you do, I'm sure that you will love St Petersburg! Ashley

I am curious about the lines as we encountered no lines on our trip -- but it was in September. We got tickets for the Hermitage at machines and skipped those lines and our guide for the Catherine Palace which was our only guided experience (as noted before, chosen for the logistics of getting there) had arranged tickets and we didn't have a line, but then we also didn't see lines. We did not find lines at any other site.

Both Moscow and St Petersburg I've done on my own, that is together with the Dear Partner. I can't remember any problem getting where we wanted to go. The Metro systems are well signed, and with a little exercise and patience you can recognize the station names. With a good map and a good guide - we had the Rough Guides - that part of the logistics is solved. The language is a major problem, but the usual tricks of pointing, looking helpless, and making a joke of it all do wonders. I would hate to be led by a guide, but for others it is a comfortable thought.

We also did both cities on our own. I found the DK Eyewitness guide for Moscow has the best map. I used the one from our library (kept the book at home). Took the smaller RS book for St. Petersburg ( his book on northern cities). His map and restaurant ideas were all good. We also downloaded the Google maps in our Android Samsung tablets/phones for both cities and then could get directions to any place we typed in. The blue ball guided us everywhere. I'm sure we missed somethings by not having a guide, but we just enjoy walking around and getting a sense of a place. If you like art, The Hermitage is great. We went 3 times and still missed alot. In St. Peterburg we stayed at the 3 Mosta which we loved (quite and not far from the Church of Spilled Blood.) We also loved the Georgian food in both cities. There's a great Georgian restaurant near the 3 Mosta hotel. We're now in Belarus- very scenic. Enjoy your trip!!

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ICYMI: Buttigieg tours beleaguered bridge, PC loses, and tragedy in Warwick

by NBC 10 NEWS

This week: The secretary of transportation joined local officials for a tour of the Washington Bridge, the Providence College men’s basketball season ends in disappointment and –- in case you missed it –- a young child is shot and killed in Warwick.

Suspect accused of assaulting 70-year-old driver in Cranston ordered held

Twenty-year-old Matthew Figueroa Hernandez was in handcuffs on Monday at the Kent County Courthouse.

He is accused of assaulting and carjacking a man on Pontiac Avenue the previous Friday.

Police responded to the scene to find a man in the middle of the road.

Figueroa Hernandez was located hours later in North Kingstown with the car.

He's facing felony charges, including robbery of an occupant of a motor vehicle and assault on a person over 60 resulting in serious bodily injury.

Figueroa Hernandez is also accused of assaulting his girlfriend and sister during the ordeal.

The suspect was being held without bail.

Buttigieg visits Washington Bridge with local officials

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said he's committed to keeping Washington Bridge construction on track.

Buttigieg traveled to Rhode Island on Tuesday and toured the westbound side of the Washington Bridge. Officials said last week the bridge will be demolished and replaced.

"We saw not just, obviously, the physical condition of the bridge, but the effect that it's having on the community," Buttigieg said about the tour.

Buttigieg said the two-year estimate for getting a new bridge open to traffic is aggressive but that it needs to be met.

Current estimates put the demolition and rebuild cost between $250 million and $300 million.

Buttigieg blamed the Washington Bridge's unique design from the 1960s for the issues prompting its shutdown and the need for a rebuild.

Friars season ends after falling in opening round of NIT

The Providence College men's basketball team’s season came to a disappointing end this week.

On Sunday, the Friars were omitted from the NCAA March Madness Tournament by the selection committee.

On Tuesday night, the men's team was eliminated from the opening round of the NIT after falling to Boston College, 62-57, at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.

"Disappointing loss, disappointing season from an outcome standpoint," said Providence head coach Kim English.

English said he learned a lot during his first season as head coach at Providence and is looking forward to next season.

"I'm really excited to reload this roster and get to work with them in the spring and summer," English said.

This season was likely the last for star guard Devin Carter at PC.

Boy killed in Warwick shooting; father found dead from self-inflected gunshot wound

Warwick police said Thursday that a child was found dead in a home where a man was also discovered with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

On Friday police identified the child as 4-year-old Liam Dempsey. The man was identified as 33-year-old Seamus Dempsey, the boy’s father.

Police said they got a call on Thursday from 33-year-old Estefania Dempsey, Liam's mother and Seamus' wife, about a possible homicide at 71 Frawley St.

The department says the mother-in-law, identified as 79-year-old Ellen Dempsey, who was in the home at the time of the shooting, was able to communicate with officers and exit safely.

Officers entered the home and found the bodies of Liam and Seamus, both suffering from gunshot wounds.

Police say the investigation into the tragedy is ongoing.