HPE Cray Supercomputing EX
The HPE Cray Supercomputing EX is a liquid-cooled, blade-based supercomputer platform sold as the EX4000 cabinet or the smaller EX2500 rack. A cabinet holds up to 64 compute or accelerator blades across eight chassis and links them with HPE Slingshot switch blades in a dragonfly network. HPE's QuickSpecs list AMD EPYC blades up to 5th Gen Turin and NVIDIA GH200 accelerator blades. It is sold as a complete system with a software stack and cooling distribution units, so it reaches the secondary market only when whole systems or blades are decommissioned.
Also written as: HPE Cray EX, HPE Cray Supercomputing EX, Cray EX4000, Cray EX2500
Specifications
| Brand | HPE |
|---|---|
| Family | Cray |
| Form factor | Liquid-cooled cabinet (EX4000) or rack (EX2500) |
| Cabinets | EX4000 liquid-cooled cabinet; EX2500 liquid-cooled rack that can also hold some air-cooled hardware |
| Compute chassis | 8 per EX4000 (64 compute blade slots); up to 3 per EX2500 (24 compute blade slots) |
| Chassis slots | 8 compute blade slots and 8 HPE Slingshot switch blade slots per chassis |
| Compute blades | EX4252 and EX4252 Gen 2: four 2-socket AMD EPYC nodes per blade (Genoa up to 96 cores, Bergamo up to 128, Turin Dense up to 160 or 192). EX254n: two 4-socket NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper nodes per blade |
| Interconnect | HPE Slingshot switch blades, 64 ports at 200 Gb/s, dragonfly topology; 200 Gb/s Slingshot or 100 Gb/s Ethernet mezzanine NICs |
| Cooling | Direct liquid cooling to cold plates through a cooling distribution unit; no fans in the cabinet |
| Power supply | 15 kW rectifiers: up to 32 per EX4000 cabinet (4 shelves), up to 12 per EX2500 rack (3 shelves) |
Check compatibility with HPE
Before you buy, confirm the exact configuration against the vendor's own lists: firmware levels, operating systems, adapters and optics that HPE has tested with the HPE Cray Supercomputing EX.
- Compatibility HPE SPOCK (storage, SAN and host compatibility)
- Part lookup HPE PartSurfer (spare and option part numbers)
- Support HPE Support Center
Equivalent models from other brands
Buying a used Cray Supercomputing EX: what to check
Cray EX parts come with strict site requirements: facility water, a cooling distribution unit, 3-phase power and the Slingshot fabric. Confirm blades are complete with cold plates and mezzanine NIC cards, check for leaks or corrosion on liquid fittings, and verify that HPE will still support the exact blade generation.
FAQ
What is the difference between the EX4000 and the EX2500?
The EX4000 is a full cabinet with eight compute chassis and up to 64 blade slots. The EX2500 is a smaller rack with up to three chassis and 24 blade slots, with the cooling distribution unit built into the rack.
What processors do HPE Cray EX blades use?
HPE's QuickSpecs list AMD 4th Gen EPYC (Genoa and Bergamo) and 5th Gen EPYC (Turin Dense) CPU blades, and NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper accelerator blades.
What network does the Cray EX use?
HPE Slingshot. Each switch blade has 64 ports at 200 Gb/s, and the fabric is arranged as a dragonfly topology so any two endpoints are reached in three or fewer switch hops.
Buying or selling Cray Supercomputing EX?
New, refurbished or used. Tell us the quantity and condition and we connect you with a vetted reseller in your region, usually within one working day.
Sources
- HPE Cray Supercomputing EX QuickSpecs (V22, 21 September 2026), checked 2026-10-27