GoL implementations for big systems don't evaluate the cellular automata step-by-step. They implement HashLife - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashlife . The first example on that page shows position 6.3+ octillion for a Turing machine, computed in under 30 seconds.
If the special purpose hardware ran at 1 THz, it would take about 4 quadrillion seconds to get to the same point, which is a bit over 200 million years.
If the special purpose hardware ran at 1 THz, it would take about 4 quadrillion seconds to get to the same point, which is a bit over 200 million years.