MPI on a PS3

No, really!  Some folks at Dartmouth have not only done this, but posted a step-by-step guide for anyone who wants to do it themselves. I am not one of these – I don’t own a PS3, a Wii, or any other gaming device. 

The trick is to install the 64-bit Fedora Core 8 via a DVD and a thumb drive (for booting) and then run MPI as usual. Since the PS3 apparently has 8 cores in it, this may not be as nutty as it sounds. The Dartmouth claim is that you can build a super-computer for under $4K. Considering that 10 PS3s would give you 80 cores, well, that might be fun!