Cray picks Intel for supercomputers

The multiyear deal Santa Clara-based Intel announced Monday bolsters its server business a major source of its revenue and snaps an exclusive arrangement that kept its chips out of some of the world's most powerful machines.

Supercomputers are used heavily by government agencies for data-crunching and weapons development, while universities and private companies use them to conduct scientific research and model complex financial transactions.

Seattle-based Cray has three machines in the top 10 on the latest list of the world's most powerful supercomputers, behind only IBM Corp., which has four.

Intel and AMD make microprocessors that act as the brains of computers.

AMD stole substantial market share from Intel a couple of years ago with chips that were more energy-efficient than Intel's. But Intel has since fought back, taking back market share and breaking AMD-exclusive deals.

Cray computers with Intel chips aren't expected until 2011 or 2012.